KAILUA-KONA >> The Cooke Foundation is providing a $12,000 grant for a Big Island dryland restoration project.

The Hawaii Forest Institute, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and community groups are working to protect the fragile, endangered dryland ecosystem in the Village of LaiOpua in North Kona. 

The Hawaii Forest Institute announced the grant Tuesday.

The institute says volunteers have been preparing a site for an outdoor learning center.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ LaiOpua Plant Mitigation and Preserve Restoration Plan outlines strategies to protect endangered plants and restore dryland habitat on about 70 acres.