Paying it forward, for 25 miles

Last year I received a Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship, and went to Jersey to take a course on zoo pest control and endangered species conservation. People who work at zoos, if I may generalize, are passionate animal lovers and dedicated conservationists, who don't make much money. This scholarship (memorializing a young zookeeper who died during a conservation trip) provides opportunities for these passionate and dedicated people to apply their commitment to wildlife and the environment, taking classes and participating in field work that would otherwise be out of their reach. This allows them to be better stewards of the environment, better conservationists, and better caretakers for their animals.

I am very grateful to David and Peggy Gilmour for establishing this scholarship in their son's name. They have chosen a really meaningful and lasting way to remember him, and honor what was really important to him.

In this spirit I have decided to join the Gilmour Scholarship Fund Bike Ride, happening on May 7th. Honestly, I decided last year that I would participate, and I thought that by now I would have gotten myself into shape enough to do the ride. Alas, I don't even have air in my tires, and the ride is only three weeks away. Back when I was bicycling every day, 25 miles was a piece of cake. Now I'm nervous about it--which is good, right? It will be an achievement of some kind.

Please consider making a donation to the fund in my name, here: http://www.zoonewengland.org/netcommunity/jef

Any amount is great! Five dollars is not too small. I'm setting 750 as an ambitious target, since that's the upper limit of a Gilmour scholarship award, and I would love to say that I helped provide an entire scholarship. Thanks very much!

(Those of you who donated to my last charity drive, your stickers are in the envelopes, and should be in the mail this weekend--I really appreciate it!)