The shoreline at the North Tonawanda Botanical Gardens is about to get a major upgrade.

The Shoreline Restoration Project will refurbish areas of the gardens north of the boat launch to their original state.

The funding was approved last December and meetings are now underway to get public input and create new designs.

The project will also allow area schools to develop educational programs and partnerships.

"Our Botanical Gardens have needed some tender loving care for a while, and now we have a group together that's dedicated to do that,” said David Conti, chairman of the North Tonawanda Botanical Garden Organization. “We have a parks department that is cooperating with us, also our city government cooperating with us, so it's very exciting to get a project like this off the ground."

The North Tonawanda Botanical Garden Organization hopes to have the Shoreline Restoration project completed later this year.