If you’re like me, you’re enjoying the warmer weather that comes with spring and anticipating the really warm days of summer. One thing I don’t enjoy is the buzzing I hear swarming around me when I’m outside at an event or playing with my son in the backyard. Although I have a fear of bees - I’ll save the traumatic childhood experience for another time - I know how important they are to plants, our environment and even the economy.

EarthDay.org says, “Plants need bees to pollinate, making bees indispensable pollinators of most ecosystems. There are 369,000 flowering plant species, and 90 percent of them are dependent on insect pollination.

“A honeybee can usually visit 50-100 flowers in one trip; if a bee takes 10 trips a day, a colony with 25,000 forager bees can pollinate 250 million flowers in a day,” the site continues.

Other benefits of bees include the pollination of food, such as nuts and berries, for other animals to eat and contributing billions of dollars to the world economy.

These irreplaceable pollinators are not the only contributors to our environment and economy we need to ensure their survival. There are many aspects we need to care about, which typically are emphasized on Earth Day, such as stopping littering, supporting legislation to combat climate change, striving to reduce, reuse and recycle, researching the negative impacts of deforestation and using more organic than nonorganic products and foods.

On April 22, the world’s population will mark this day by cleaning up at parks and on the roads, planting trees, flowers and plants, releasing butterflies, helping a beekeeper, making sure everything that can be recycled is, starting a compost, voicing advocacy on social media and helping in other ways to keep our Earth green and growing.

The day school my son attends in Catasauqua is doing its part, too. On Earth Day, my son and his classmates are releasing ladybugs. Last week, the classes made birdhouses.

If you’d like to get involved within your community in honor of Earth Day, below are a couple of events happening in The Press newspapers’ coverage areas.

• Cleanup in North Catasauqua and Catasauqua boroughs, 9 a.m.-noon April 20. The Lehigh Canal area will be the main target to clean up. Volunteers will consist of Boy Scout troops, emergency management personnel and residents. Crews will start at either end of the boroughs and meet in the middle. Those planning to volunteer are asked to meet at the D&L trailhead in North Catasauqua, adjacent to the public works building at 1460 Main St., or at Biery’s Port Coal Yard in Catasauqua. Supplies to clean up the boroughs will be provided. To sign up to volunteer, call 610-264-1504.

• Community celebration on the quad at Cedar Crest College, 100 College Drive, Allentown, 4-6 p.m. April 24. Environmental-themed games, arts and crafts, planting seeds and other activities are planned for this event, perfect for students in elementary grades. For more information, call 610-606-4666 or visit cedarcrest.edu.

• Historic district cleanup beginning at Sun Inn Courtyard, 556 Main St., Bethlehem, 8-11 a.m. April 27. Volunteers are needed to pick up litter, clean out planters and plant new flowers. There will be light refreshments 8 a.m., followed by the handing out of cleanup supplies. To sign up, email laurenb@lehighvalleychamber.org.

• Craft fair and Earth Day festival at Francis Center for Renewal, 395 Bridle Path Road, Hanover Township, Northampton County, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 27. Featured at the event is beekeeping, container gardening, a raffle, food, artisans and more. For further information, visit bethlehemfood.coop.

Compassion, knowledge, activism and change start with us - so get out there and help keep beautiful what God and nature have provided. We are our Earth’s protectors.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Whitehall-Coplay Press

Northampton Press

Catasauqua Press