LI plant preservation group gets $75G

The Long Island Native Plant Initiative, a Riverhead-based nonprofit that focuses on preserving the Island's plants, has received a $75,000 grant from BP Solar.

The grant, received this month, will "support the organization's mission of preserving the genetic integrity of Long Island's native plants," said Polly Weigand, a Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District technician and executive director of the plant initiative.

"It's going to support the different goals and missions of the Long Island Native Plant Initiative," she said. "We're trying to ensure that the supply [of native plants] is readily available for the nursery industry."

The LINPI is a cooperative group of more than 30 organizations and government agencies. The group has collected and banked seed from more than 35 native grasses, plants, shrubs and trees, the nonprofit said in a statement.

BP Solar, which shut down last year, committed to the donation in August, Weigand said. The company said in a statement that it was "pleased to help LINPI further advance its important work."