LINPI is partnering with 10 Suffolk County community groups to create beautiful, native pollinator gardens!
Scroll down for this year’s winners, including sample garden plans. Photos of gardens are coming soon!
Each selected group receives Long Island ecotypic plants and educational signage to build a 200 sq. ft. public garden in Suffolk County that benefits local pollinators.
Winning organizations agree to:
Site gardens near access to water.
Commit to at least 3 years of maintenance, including weeding and watering, until plants are established.
Place garden signs (provided by LINPI) in the garden and keep them visible to the public.
Provide LINPI with photos of the planted gardens and arrange a site visit for LINPI staff in the fall.
This year’s application is closed. Please check back in 2026 to apply for next year’s grant!
LINPI’s Native Plant Pollinator Garden Program is sponsored by a generous grant from the Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District 2025 Community Assistance Program (CAP).
Bayport-Blue Point Library
186 Middle Road, Blue Point
Bayport-Blue Point Public Library is a dynamic community-centered institution serving the residents of Bayport and Blue Point, Long Island. Their mission is to inspire lifelong learning, support cultural enrichment, and foster connections through accessible resources, programs, and services. In addition to traditional library offerings, the library provides innovative educational and environmental initiatives, including a Nature Discovery Garden, to promote sustainability and hands-on learning. They are committed to enhancing the community’s well-being through thoughtful stewardship of our natural surroundings and meaningful partnerships, including this pollinator garden! This beautiful garden area is open to the public.
Fairharbor on the Water
82 Fairharbor Drive, Patchogue
Fairharbor is a diverse residential Co-op community that welcomes young families who are just beginning their lives together to seniors who are starting a new chapter in their lives. They are transitioning their landscaping to native and pollinator plants. This beautiful garden located near new construction is designed to support pollinators throughout the year, as well as bring joy to residents and visitors.
Gateway Community Garden
15 Cheshire St., Huntington Station
Gateway Community Garden is an organic community vegetable garden within a Town of Huntington park. Anyone residing in the Town of Huntington can apply for a garden plot and grow their own vegetables organically. The garden also includes a number of plots designated for donation to LI Cares and Community Solidarity and provides fresh produce to food insecure people in season. This new pollinator garden will provide a colorful border to the site and will draw many local pollinators who will be welcome visitors and inhabitants.
REACH-Rotary Environmental Coalition of Huntington
Gold Star Battalion Beach
324 West Short Rd., Huntington
This beautiful and functional rain garden allows runoff from West Shore Rd. to collect and filter into the soil rather than running directly into the harbor. It is packed with Long Island native plants that love a wet environment. Gold Star Battalion Beach is accessible to all Huntington residents and visitors. It has a lifeguard protected beach, kayak racks, a playground, picnic area, dock and boat launch, as well as nursery docks used for aquaculture (a location for REACH's Oyster Reef Project). REACH-Rotary serves all residents and visitors of the Huntington area who benefit from their efforts to improve and save the environment. Ultimately, all residents of Long Island will benefit from the contribution of the garden to cleaner water.
Seatuck Environmental Association
South Shore Nature Center, 130 Bayview Ave, East Islip
Seatuck Environmental Association is a Long Island Wildlife Conservation nonprofit with sites in Islip and East Islip. They approach conservation through the lens of science, advocacy, and education, and believe that educating and informing the public about the need for environmental conservation on Long Island is the most effective way to bring about change for wildlife. They are involved island-wide with conservation work and offer field trips, on-site programs, after school programs, summer programs, and more for PreK- 5th grade students. This new pollinator garden will be located in what is currently a turf grass field near the entrance to the South Shore Nature Center in East Islip. This public park is open daily to visitors. The creation of this garden will be a part of one of Seatuck’s educational programs, such as their weekly After School Program. The curriculum will incude removing the turf grass, the initial planting, and then ongoing care and observations — a fanastic project for kids and pollinators alike!
Smithtown Library
148 Smithtown Blvd., Nesconset
The Smithtown Library traces its beginnings to 1907 when materials were housed in Judge Lawrence Smith's law office. Over the years, the collection was moved and expanded and now consists of the four buildings located in Smithtown, Commack, Kings Park, and Nesconset. This garden will be on the front lawn of the Nesconset building along the driveway and will join the library’s other gardens including a raised garden on patio that their All Abilities patrons tend. This sunny pollinator garden will welcome all pollinators, patrons, and visitors.
South Huntington Library
145 Pidgeon Hill Road, Huntington Station
The South Huntington Public Library is certified as a Sustainable Library by the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. As such, all the choices they make for our facility in this culturally and economically diverse community are made through a sustainability lens. They chose to site their garden in three raised beds in the front of the building by the main entrance to create a more attractive and sustainable area for native plants, pollinators, and library patrons. The site receives full sun for 6-8 hours so our design includes sun-loving native plants that will provide a color welcome.
Three Village Community Trust
The Bruce House, 148 Main Street, East Setauket
Three Village Community Trust was founded in 2003 as a local non-profit to acquire and restore sites and structures that contribute to community identity, protect our natural resources by preserving wetlands and shorelines, green spaces, and farmland, and create a legacy for future generations. The site for this new pollinator garden is at the historic Bruce House which serves as the Trust's office and meeting space. It is located on Main Street in East Setauket and is in walking distance of an elementary school, public library, fire station, places of worship, businesses, and offices. This pollinator garden will be located along the northern edge (southern exposure) of the small property and will be visible from the street so passersby can enjoy and learn about the native plants and pollinators.
West Islip Library
3 Higbie Lane, West Islip
The West Islip Public Library exists to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the West Islip community by connecting them to each other and the world. To this end the library fulfills a number of roles in the community including its Pre-school Door to Learning, Community Activities Center, and Educational Support Center
The site chosen for this full sun pollinator garden is on the left side of the library building, beside the Children's Department garden and across from a field that the nearby schools use for events and sports practices. The garden will be planted and maintained by the library’s teen volunteer group and will be accessible to all visitors.
