Environment & Science

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.

This week on Watching the Skies, learn how to spot several stars and bright celestial objects in the sky like Mars and Jupiter.

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.

Northampton County will use a mix of local money and a federal grant to buy 43 acres of undeveloped land in Stockertown, officials announced. Officials did not identify the parcel they intend to buy.

Covering 187 acres in Salisbury and Upper Saucon townships, the sanctuary has seven different trails, and is the conservancy’s ninth nature preserve in the Lehigh Valley.

The plan, estimated to cost more than $300 million over the next decade, seeks to overhaul and upgrade aging water and wastewater infrastructure across more than a dozen Lehigh County municipalities.

“It will feel more like a mid-to-late August day, with highs in the low to mid 80s under clear skies,” the weather service said in its latest forecast discussion, noting records could fall for climate stations across the region.

The Bethlehem Area School District is getting $2 million in federal rebates to buy 10 more electric school buses. Officials expect the buses to be in service next school year.

This week is a good one to spot the planets that are visible in the night sky, both in evenings and early mornings.

EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said, “While the milder outlooks that are out there have merit and support, it’s not as cut and dry as it seems and there can be some surprises, especially earlier in winter.”

Easton's Nurture Nature Center is hosting a free star party in Scott Park from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, offering use of their telescopes and the expertise of their staff to help budding stargazers.

Wildlands Conservancy, as well as other partners and stakeholders, on Tuesday marked the completion of restoration work on the Bushkill Creek at Lafayette College with a celebration and wildflower-planting.

Current conditions in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the region will support the spread of any fires that ignite, the National Weather Service warned Friday. Any fires that erupt could be difficult to control.

The commonwealth’s fourth fall foliage report was released Thursday. Here's the forecast for the coming week in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola announced Palmer Township's Stormwater Authority has obtained a $3.8 million loan to improve drainage along Old Nazareth Road.

Infinera, a semiconductor company with a facility in Upper Macungie Township, inked a preliminary deal with the federal government to expand its production locally and in California. The agreement is part of a bipartisan effort to boost domestic production of essential high-tech resources to protect the national supply chain and create high-paying tech jobs.