Environment & Science

The African penguin colony, off exhibit since early January because of bird flu, is back at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.

This week, a preview of confirmation hearings scheduled for Wednesday to confirm a new head for NASA. The nominee is well known to the Lehigh Valley.

City officials were ready in February to award a contract for a tree inventory in Allentown, but uncertainties caused by an order from President Donald Trump's administration forced them to pause that plan.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection last week launched the Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction grant program. Aimed at schools and childcare facilities, the program is focused on testing for, and remediating, lead in drinking water.

For the sixth year, Nurture Nature Center will hold the Youth Climate Summit of the Lehigh Valley. The free event aims to engage middle and high school students in climate change issues, as well as seek solutions.

President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency canceled Pennsylvania’s $13 million contract with the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program. A pandemic-era program, farmers were paid to supply local food banks with fresh produce.

This week, how to spot the first traces of the young crescent moon that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The fifth annual Be My Neighbor Day was held Saturday at Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem. Children participated in crafts and gardening activities, interactive musical performances, and meet-ups with Daniel Tiger.

Team Pennsylvania on National Agriculture Day released “The Pennsylvania Agriculture Economic Analysis 2025.” The report takes a deep data dive into the commonwealth’s agriculture sector from 2012-2022.

Pasa Sustainable Agriculture on Wednesday held virtual town hall focused on the current freeze on U.S. Department of Agriculture grants earmarked for farmers implementing climate-smart production practices.

Forecast guidance continues to indicate precipitation can be expected over the region Friday evening, which could leave a blanket of white in some areas as we await the winter solstice.

The project, beginning today, includes rebuilding the stream bank. Officials said increased public interest and use, climate change and more frequent high-water events have significantly eroded it.

Easton City Council members Frank Pintabone and Crystal Rose will host a community Q&A session with the developers behind the controversial new Easton Commerce Park warehouse project on Thursday, Dec. 19.

A nuisance system that moved through the region Sunday night brought the Lehigh Valley its first measurable snowfall of the season, the National Weather Service said.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory mid-Sunday afternoon, warning of potential slippery conditions as mixed precipitation moves through the Lehigh Valley into early Monday morning.

The winter solstice is celebrated in many ways by many cultures. How will you ring it in in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Dec. 21?

State environmental officials awarded $2.55 million in grants as part of a statewide effort to improve air quality in communities through cleaner fuel transportation infrastructure.

Wilson Area School District's second annual Family Computer Science Night welcomed hundreds of students to learn all about computers, AI, robots, and the future careers they could have in the field on Thursday evening.

Plans by Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley to construct a 1,200-square-foot addition to its existing administrative offices at 4501 Crackersport Road were approved by the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Thursday night.

Three farms in Lehigh County were the latest to be included in Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.

A system arriving Sunday night could bring a period of snow and ice to the area before a changeover to rain but “there remains considerable uncertainty with the details.”

During the 2023-24 hunting seasons, a record-breaking 261,672 pounds of venison from 6,905 deer and six elk statewide was donated through Hunters Sharing the Harvest. Find out how much was donated in the Lehigh Valley.