Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund

 

"My favorite part of the day comes near quitting time. When the sun is going down and I’m leading the giraffes down the long paths to where they go to sleep, it’s just me and them and it’s perfect."

- Jonathan Gilmour

Help us reach our goal of $25,000 – donate to the Gilmour Fund by June 12, 2009 and your gift will be doubled! As of May 29, the 2009 Gilmour ride raised $23,000 – so, in order to help us reach our goal of $25,000, an anonynmous donor has agreed to match up to $1,000 in donations received between now and June 12.

 

 Donate now to help us reach our goal!

 

 Thank you to everyone who made the 2nd annual 

Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund Bike Ride a huge success!

 

 

Thanks to all of our riders, volunteers, organizing committee members, sponsors, and donors, the event was a phenomenal success. In total, we had 152 riders and to date have raised more than $23,000 – and donations are still coming in!

The success of last year’s Gilmour Ride made it possible to more than double the total amount Gilmour Scholarships over the previous year. In fact, while there was one recipient in 2007 and one in 2008, we just announced five 2009 scholarship winners:

    •  Assistant Curator Ed O’Brien, who received an award to purchase radio transmitters that will allow him to monitor a population of spotted turtles in a local reservation.
      • Education Specialist Corinne Steever, who received an award to help defray travel expenses for a trip to Peru to participate in the Tambopata Macaw Project, an ongoing research project studying macaws in the Peruvian Rainforest.
      • Lead Zookeeper Dave Caron, who received an award to pay the enrollment fee for an introductory fundraising course offered by the Association of Fundraising Professionals
      • Facilities Coordinator Jean Katarousky, who received an award to help pay expenses associated with attending the upcoming AZFA conference, where she will present a paper she wrote on recycling and conservation entitled "Getting the Green to Go Green"
      • Veterinary Technician Jean Orlando, who received an award to help pay expenses associated with attending the 2009 National Zoo Veterinary Technician Conference.

The success of the 2009 Gilmour Ride will create even more opportunities for members of the Zoo community to pursue conservation projects, education opportunities, research initiatives and other wildlife-focused efforts in the coming years – further perpetuating Jonathan’s passion for wildlife and helping to educate and inspire the next generation of conservation activists

 

Click here to view pictures from the 2nd Annual event

Click here to see a special set of pictures.

To view a list \ sponsor a registered rider click here.

For registered riders click here to view your personal fundraising page.

To view the routes click here.

If you'd still like to support the Jonathan Gilmour Fund, it's not too late! If interested, click here.

For information about the bike ride or the fund, please call 617-989-3760.

 

The First Annual Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund Bike Ride was held on May 10, 2008 and was a huge success! The ride raised more than $30,000 for the scholarship fund and organizers are hoping for an even bigger turn-out this year. If you would like to make a donation, please scroll down.

These events would not be possible without the support from riders, volunteers, organizing committee members, donors and sponsors – thank you to everyone who has supported, and continues to support, the scholarship fund

 

Shop online at Amazon.com and support the Gilmour Fund!

 

By using the Amazon.com link below, a percentage of what you spend will be contributed to the Gilmour Fund at no additional cost to you:

 

Please remember to return to this page and use this link every time you shop at Amazon so that your shopping continues to support the Gilmour Fund.

 

Second award recipient studies hornbills in Thailand

Zookeeper Siobhan McCann was the second recipient of the Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship. The award enabled her to study hornbills in Thailand with the Thailand Hornbill Foundation. The Thailand Hornbill Foundation works with 14 species of hornbills and Siobhan, who co-chairs ZNE’s Enrichment Committee, studied species including the Great Indian hornbill, white-crested hornbill and wreathed

hornbill. ZNE exhibits southern ground hornbills, great hornbills, silvery-cheeked hornbills and white-crested hornbills. Siobhan traveled to Thailand in June.

 

Pictured at left: A hornbill feeding young in the nest. Zookeeper Siobhan McCann took this photo while studying hornbills in Thailand.
 


First award recipient returns from Nigeria

The 2007 recipient of the Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund was Lead Zookeeper Erica Farrell. The scholarship enabled Erica to participate in an in situ conservation project at the Pandrillus Drill Rehabilitation and Breeding Center in Nigeria. The project focused on creating a monitoring and data collection method to be used in the center's Drill reintroduction program. Erica also helped care for chimps, as well as managed staff at the Center. In the spring of 2008, Erica  returned back to work at Franklin Park Zoo after spending six months in Nigeria.

 

Drills are short-tailed forest baboons found in western Cameroon, southeastern Nigeria and on Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea. Erica recently returned back to work at Franklin Park Zoo after spending six months in Nigeria.

 

Pictured at right: ZNE Lead Zookeeper Erica Farrell gives a young chimp a bath at the Drill Rehabilitation and Breeding Center in Nigeria.
 

 

 

If you would like to make a contribution to the Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund, please click here.  Be sure to include Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund in the comments section to ensure your gift is processed properly.

 

If you would like to make a gift to the fund in someone else's name, the Development office will send a special acknowledgment to the person or family who is recognized for this gift. In order to properly attribute this contribution, please contact our Development office at 617-989-3760 with the name(s) and address(es) of the person or family to acknowledge after completing the donation below.

 

To learn more about Jonathan Gilmour and read one of his poems, click here.

 

In April 2006, Franklin Park Zoo family lost a cherished family member when former zookeeper Jonathan Gilmour passed away suddenly at age 29. From the time he was a young boy, Jonathan displayed a love of animals. This passion never left as he entered adulthood and dedicated himself to a career centered on the animals he so loved.

 

To honor Jonathan and his commitment to the welfare of animals, the Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2006. The fund was established by Zoo New England with the generous financial support and volunteer leadership from the Gilmour family. The fund will allow recipients to follow their dreams and further their personal education on a subject that is important to them.

 

The award winners are employees of Zoo New England, who have been employed by the Zoo for at least one year. Each year, the award will be given to someone who has presented to the award committee a project that represents and embodies the commitment to conservation and education of both the applicant and Zoo New England. The project can be either field study or classroom study. It may be related to any animal species research, welfare, conservation or rehabilitation. At the conclusion of the project, a presentation will be made to illustrate the goals achieved during the time of study.