GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A small group of volunteers helped sow seeds by hand over the weekend to help create another patch of native prairie in the midst of farmland.

The Grand Island Independent reports 20 volunteers helped the Nature Conservancy plant seeds for 141 species of native prairie plants on 60 acres Saturday.

The planting was part of the group’s ongoing effort to create sections of vibrant prairie in Central Nebraska’s Platte River Valley.

The Nature Conservancy paid a contractor to clear the land last summer.

Evan Barrientos, with the group, says the goal isn’t to recreate what used to exist across the Plains. But he hopes to create a site that holds a high diversity of species.