Hartley, Heather Richardson donate $4M to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park

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This article was published 13/11/2022 (772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The leaves may be off the trees, but one of Winnipeg’s most prominent families is ensuring The Leaf lives on at Assiniboine Park.

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy announced Monday that Hartley Richardson and his wife Heather have donated $4 million to The Leaf — Canada’s Diversity Gardens, the replacement to the park’s former conservatory.

In return for their generosity, Conservancy president and CEO Margaret Redmond said an area inside the Gardens — the largest of The Leaf’s planted spaces — will be named the Hartley and Heather Richardson Tropical Biome.

That area features not only the tallest indoor waterfall in the country, but plant material from tropical regions across the planet.

“As a family that calls Winnipeg home, the momentous redevelopment of Assiniboine Park is an endeavour dear to our hearts, one that will contribute immeasurable social, recreational and economic value to our community,” Richardson said in a statement.

“We are delighted that our family’s gift will help fulfil the vision of establishing the park as a world-class destination to be enjoyed by present and future generations.”

Redmond hailed the couple’s “leadership” in a statement.

“The passion they share for Assiniboine Park is undeniable and their support of the zoo and now The Leaf has been an inspiration to so many others.”

In 2009, they made one of the first gifts — $1 million — to help kick-start the Imagine a Place Campaign, which assisted in creating the zoo’s Journey to Churchill exhibit.

Richardson is the current and founding chairman of the Conservancy’s board of directors, but before that he also helped the park create the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, renovate The Pavilion and develop the Lyric Theatre.

The Conservancy will announce soon an opening date for the indoor portion of The Leaf. The outdoor 30 acres of public gardens opened in July 2021.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca