Richardson family gives $3.5M to University of Winnipeg

Winnipeg's Richardson family has giventhe University of Winnipeg its largest private gift ever,donating $3.5 million to create an environmental studies collegeand an inner-city garden.

"This new college will be on the cutting edge of environmental studies and sciences, will be international in scope and will have an interactive community educational focus," Hartley Richardson said Tuesday.

The $3 million Richardson collegefor the environment will offer academic studies in the areas of forest ecology, urban ecology, the "global north," water resources and environment and health.

The Richardson familyalso gave$500,000 tothe universityfor a new inner-city green space near the university campus, which hedescribed as an "important addition to the development of downtown Winnipeg."

He said it will be"an environmental garden planted with native Prairie vegetation, offering a living laboratory for students."

University of Winnipeg president Lloyd Axworthy called the gift historic, adding it will help the university become an international leader in environmental studies.

The university isdeveloping academic and community programs for the new college andscoutingout alocation for thecollege and the inner-citygarden.

"We're just now looking at designs and sites where it could be located. We hope this is connected to a broader complex of science facilities," Axworthy said. "We feel that this is an area that we are developing strong academic and faculty resources in, so this is really the launching pad."

Thefamily, which has owned James Richardson and Sons Ltd. and related companies since 1857, is known for its philanthropic contributions in the city through theRichardson Foundation.