Assiniboine Park gets $2.5M boost to diversity gardens development

Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park has been given another big boost towards the creation ofCanada's Diversity Gardens.

Shirley Richardson and her family announced a $2.5 million donation on Friday, ensuring theShirley Richardson Butterfly Garden which opened in a temporary exhibit at the zoo in 2011 will make the move when the new facility is built.

Richardson saidthe donation was inspired by time she used to spend with her husband in the park.

"My husband had Alzheimer's disease and we would come over to the park and he would enjoy being in this part of the garden.So my dream developed from those days."

The garden will be located inThe Leaf, one of four major cornerstones of the proposed Diversity Gardens. The Leaf, a6,000-square-metre indoor horticultural facility, will be the centrepiece of the new facility.

The three other cornerstones include:

• The Indigenous Peoples' Garden a gathering place where visitors can learn about aboriginal perspectives, cultural practices and contributions.
• The Cultural Mosaic Gardens an "ornamental horticultural masterpiece" featuring garden styles from countries across the northern hemisphere.
• The Grove where visitors can take in some ofthe park's majestic trees year-round.

Earlier this year, the Manitoba government announced a$15 million investment in the project, which has a price tag of $70 million.

• Manitoba invests $15M in Assiniboine Park redevelopment project
• Assiniboine Park reveals plans for Canada's Diversity Gardens

"Canada's Diversity Gardens will be a place that embraces our multiculturalism as a nation and welcomes people from all walks of life to connect with each other through plant life and biodiversity," saidMargaret Redmond, president and CEO of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

"This gift will go a long way towards making this project a reality."

Officials have said the project could start as early as2017 and be completed in 2019.

Canada's Diversity Gardens is the final phase in the $200 million redevelopment campaign to revitalize and rejuvenate the 280-hectare Assiniboine Park.

Richardson's donationbrings the total amount raised for the campaign to $155 million.