Contact: Kenneth Labbe, labbe.ken@epa.gov
NEW YORK (September 12, 2023) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has awarded an $80,000 grant to the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance (VCPA) to expand the scope of their Urban Ecology Teen Internship program. The project, targeting high school students in the Bronx, will develop the next generation of natural resource professionals and cultivate homegrown stewards.
The Urban Ecology Teen Internship (Urban Eco-Teens) is a summer paid internship for high school students that prepares a new generation of students for college, stewardship, and careers in the environmental fields. All interns work alongside horticulturists and natural areas restoration staff from the park. They also complete labs, go on nature-focused field trips, and explore green career opportunities with natural resource professionals.
The expansion of this internship program, targeting Bronx high school students, will add three 6-week courses, in the spring, winter, and fall, and add new modules to VCPA’s current 7-week summer program by partnering with other prominent environmental nonprofits.
“It is important for young people in urban areas to appreciate their local surroundings,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “These internships will excite, inspire, and educate participants, resulting in a new appreciation for their local park and a desire to be good stewards of the environment.”
This school year, thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, students across the country are going back to school with the opportunities for the greener and cleaner future they deserve. Through the investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA is helping to build a future where all children can breathe cleaner air, drink cleaner water, and live in healthier neighborhoods.
For more information about what EPA is doing to invest in America, visit our website.
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