Redford lends name to conservancy at California college

Robert Redford is taking his passion for the environment to academia.

On Monday, Redford appeared at a press conference in Los Angeles to announce the creation of the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability, to be established at Pitzer College, a liberal-arts college in Claremont, Calif.

Redford told the press that, as a southern California native, he was saddened to see "green spaces... become skyscrapers and freeways" between the ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains. "I'm really excited about the idea that — before it's too late for Los Angeles — that something could be set aside or set up that would not only honor what was and what could still be but also honor the young people coming into the world," Redford said, according to this account from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Redford Conservancy will be housed in a repurposed building on the Pitzer campus, and start academic offerings in 2014.