A marathon is will in motion, and will is the soil from which hope springs. My hope is that through the connection of the Maasai community and others engaged in conservation efforts around the globe that they will each gain greater hope for the preservation and renewal of their part of the world.

As an architect I focus on the design of buildings that inspire collaboration toward resource conservation. As a lecturer, I speak about Mentoring Buildings as a means to forge local links that increase global sustainability. As a runner, I am always awed and humbled by the collective will among thousands in each marathon and the capacity of the human spirit.

The 2009 ING New York City Marathon provides a unique opportunity to celebrate and link two ongoing conservation efforts. The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and Campi Ya Kanzi provide the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the conservation challenges for these noble lands and people in view of Mount Kilimanjaro.

As architect for the new Ganaraska Forest Centre in Ontario, Canada, our AECOM team has blended the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority vision of the Forest as Classroom into the new facility. Six thousand students annually stay at the centre and learn about our relationship with the natural environment, many for the first time. At the opening we propose to launch a new global link with the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and the Ganaraska Forest Centre providing each the opportunity to support their collective efforts to foster a more sustainable world.

My running the marathon and raising funds for the Trust marks the local AECOM effort to link these groups and begin a new era in building a more sustainable world through these two communities.