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.
-
It's Earth Month, and there are many opportunities to get involved. Here are the events scheduled in the Lehigh Valley. -
Allentown's climate action plan survey is live. When completed, the city will be the third of the Lehigh Valley’s major cities to create a climate action plan.
-
It is the second time the township has been awarded trees through TreePennsylvania’s Bare Root Tree grant program. The statewide nonprofit supports urban and community forestry to increase tree coverage.
-
Almost 100 migrating birds of prey have been recorded since April 1, when this year’s count started. Officials at the sanctuary, as well as volunteers, have monitored the spring raptor migration since the 1960s.
-
Two Northampton County farms were the latest to be included in Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.
-
Crayola officials, along with PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center and local legislators, held an informational session Thursday on the company’s 3.53 megawatt solar farm.
-
The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor this month launched the Quest for the Golden Grabber. In its second year, it's an effort to engage community members in a friendly competition while cleaning litter from the trail.
-
There were 15 Diamond Clover awardees this year, including two from Lehigh County. The award is the highest in Pennsylvania's 4-H program.
-
The African penguin colony, off exhibit since early January because of bird flu, is back at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.
-
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.
-
A handful of organic farms across the Lehigh Valley are welcoming residents and visitors this weekend to help their own gardens get growing.
-
State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, sponsored the bill. Any money collected will go toward bald and golden eagle conservation efforts.
-
More than a dozen wild birds in Pennsylvania have so far been confirmed to have the strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. The threat to humans is low.
-
In the April update for Lehigh Valley Breathes, a regionwide effort to monitor air quality amid emissions from trucking and warehousing, officials explained new EPA soot standards and how they could impact the project.
-
The spring migration count at Hawk Mountain began last month. One-day peak counts reach more than 100 birds in mid- to late-April, with this season’s count continuing through May 15.
-
Pennsylvania Master Naturalist is partnering with the Lehigh County Conservation District to host a Master Naturalist Volunteer training. The course aims to bolster local conservation efforts.
-
A Montour County environmental educator, arborist and musician is attempting to climb the tallest tree at the highest point in each of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties.
-
One person who consumed raw milk from Apple Valley Creamery in East Berlin and became ill, officials said. The milk is sold in three Lehigh Valley locations.
-
The annual scholastic competition combines classroom learning and outdoor activities to engage students in environmental science. The state competition is scheduled for May 22 in Mifflinburg.
-
Carbon County officials on Thursday will sign on to a partnership with Northampton, officials announced. Their goal is to bolster farmland preservation efforts.
-
Arcadia plans to tear down the SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western at 300 Gateway Drive off Route 512 and replace it with a 250,000-square-foot warehouse. If the permit is approved, developers will be allowed to discharge stormwater from construction activities into the Monocacy Creek.
-
Two Lehigh Valley municipalities this year participated in Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program. Here's how the program works to create a greenhouse gas inventory and, from those findings, a climate action plan.
