Eco-teens start Van Cortlandt Park internship

Van Cortlandt Park Alliances’ cohort of Urban Eco-Teens numbers 16 interns and two college student crew members this summer.

The group, which includes rising juniors and seniors from local high schools, has been working on woodland, aquatic and trail restoration projects three days a week in the park until Aug 17, according to a statement from the Alliance.

First-year interns will take a three-credit college course, “Topics in Environmental Science,” at Manhattan College during the internship. The returning interns will work on creating informational videos that the group will share on social media.

The two crew leaders are Therese Walsh, a rising senior at SUNY Binghamton University who teaches plant identification, and Joshua Moreno, a former intern who is a rising senior at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry. He helps interns improve on their knowledge of plant species.

The eco-teens are led by youth programs manager Leo Rode, who works at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse as an education coordinator.

The lead donors for the program are Con Edison, Horace Mann School, The Edward F. & Sheri G. Leonard Fund, Manhattan College and Valentine Perry Snyder Fund. Additional support comes from The City Gardens Club of New York City, Jockey Hollow Foundation, Laura J. Niles Foundation, Shandler Family Fund, SMPS Family Fund and Van Cortlandt Track Club.

Financial planner
has new affiliation

Longtime Riverdale resident Valerie Adelman has joined the Memphis, Tennessee-based William Howard & Co. Financial Advisors as a senior financial advisor.

She was the former owner of Chestnut Financial, a tax and financial planning firm that had a Riverdale presence for more than 30 years. She plans on working with her clients in New York City and several other states while developing new ones in southeastern Florida.