Molly Bilinski
Environment & Science reporterI cover environment and science for LehighValleyNews.com. Originally from Schuylkill County, I got my start in journalism writing obituaries for the Reading Eagle in 2014 after graduating from Kutztown University. I’ve also reported for The Press of Atlantic City, covering municipalities, crime and courts, and The Morning Call, where I was part of the audience team. In 2022, I won first place in the diversity category of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s Keystone Media Awards. Contact me at mollyb@lehighvalleynews.com or 610-984-8225.
-
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its Allergy Capitals report this month. Allentown ranked in the Top 15 nationwide.
-
A section of Institute Drive will be closed through most of April to protect breeding amphibians. Experts said the road-closing conservation effort is not only important for the animals, but also for the region’s overall landscape and ecosystem.
-
A three-person crew from Joshua Tree Experts spent hours pruning the trees on Camelot for Children's campus. The work was donated through the company's #JTGivesBack initiative.
-
City Conservation Manager Rob Christopher and Ian Kindle, chair of Easton's Environmental Advisory Council, called on college officials to repair the deforested slope in a joint email sent Friday.
-
Spring wildfire season runs from March through May across the commonwealth. State officials are urging residents to do their part to prevent wildfires.
-
The 120-acre park in Northampton County boasts more than 100 species of trees and shrubs from around the world. "What's unique is it's in a public park setting. It's run by county park staff, not a nonprofit or not a for-profit entity,” the superintendent said.
-
Dozens of students from across Pennsylvania will descend on Saucon Valley Middle School’s gymnasium for FIRST Tech Challenge’s robotics state championship, including two teams from the Lehigh Valley.
-
Pennsylvania’s maple sugaring season is well underway. At the Monroe County Conservation District’s Singing Hemlock Sugar Shack, educators guided visitors through the history of maple syrup production.
-
Advocates and officials across Pennsylvania have signaled their support the new standards for fine particle pollution, also called soot or PM 2.5. However, federal officials don’t anticipate communities will meet the standard for almost a decade.
-
More than 200 years after the sanctuary was built, church leaders are working to make its heating and cooling more sustainable. While work is already underway, the oldest Moravian Church in North America still needs funding.
-
Applications open next week for the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside of the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Block Grant Program.
-
A first-of-its-kind in the Lehigh Valley, the dome is expected to draw students and visitors both locally and from outside of Pennsylvania.
-
The Annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey, which began Tuesday, aims to track population trends across the state for a bird that once almost went extinct in the U.S.
-
There are 51 stops on this year’s trail. In its eighth year, the trail is focused on celebrating local creameries across the state while driving business during the summer months.
-
The funding, through the Livable Landscape program, was unanimously approved at the county council’s June 18 meeting.
-
The city is the third major city in the Lehigh Valley to become certified through Bird Town Pennsylvania, an annual designation focused on community-based conservation.
-
Newhard Farms Corn Shed opened Tuesday for sweet corn sales. While it opened a few days later than in recent years, there's expected to be a good supply this season.
-
The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.
-
The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
-
The Clean Trucks PA Coalition report identified more than 600 schools, childcare centers, playgrounds and parks near major roadways and trucking corridors across the state.
-
In addition to live music, there will be more than a dozen local vendors, businesses and crafters, as well as trail and outdoor demonstrations, and group walks.
-
The Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant Program awarded grants to 12 organizations and municipalities this year.