Community · Sterling Heights
Sterling Heights’ Nelson Park garden wins the Michigan Municipal League’s top community award, as a 3,000-square-foot mural goes up at the Athletic Hub
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — A once lightly used soccer field in James C. Nelson Park has won Sterling Heights the Michigan Municipal League’s highest community honor, the first time a Metro Detroit city has taken the award since 2021.
The city’s “Homegrown in Nelson Park” project won the league’s 2026 Community Excellence Award, announced Oct. 9 at the league’s convention in Traverse City, the city said. Twenty communities entered. Sterling Heights beat fellow finalists Berrien Springs, Buchanan and Rochester in a vote of local government officials after each presented on the convention’s main stage. The prize, nicknamed “The Race for the Cup,” comes with a large trophy.
What is there. On about one acre of the 65-acre park on the city’s southwest side, the city built more than 100 rentable garden beds, including raised and ground-level beds that meet accessibility standards, a children’s garden, a butterfly conservatory, a micro-forest, an apiary and a pavilion, according to the league’s project entry and a June league profile. Seating and a covered swing are made from retired wind turbine blades painted by wildlife artist Brooklyn Lamb. One children’s bed, the “deep-dish pizza garden,” grows tomatoes, peppers and garlic.
No fertilizers or chemicals are allowed and compost comes partly from coffee grounds donated by Biggby, the city’s entry says. Low spots that held standing water and mosquitoes were turned into native plantings, the league’s profile says. Rochester Hills-based Dutton Farm, sponsored by Genisys Credit Union, uses the garden to teach people with developmental disabilities to grow food.
How it was paid for. The city used federal American Rescue Plan Act money and picked the community garden after asking residents what they wanted, parks director Kyle Langlois told the league. Construction began in late summer 2024, and the features opened in April 2025. Nelson Park already had parking, restrooms and water, which is why it was chosen.
“Without their financial support and their coming to meetings and discussing what projects they wanted, it wouldn’t have been possible,” Councilmember Michael Radtke said of residents in the city’s announcement.
What it means for residents. Garden beds are rented through the city, and the conservatory hosts tours and programs run by the city’s Nature Center staff. The park also has two playgrounds, a sand volleyball court and wooded trails.
A new mural on Van Dyke. The award comes as the city shows off another public art piece: a “Greetings from Sterling Heights” mural by local artist Wendy Popko on the north wall of the city’s Athletic Hub, the taxpayer-funded pickleball and table tennis building on Van Dyke Avenue near 15 Mile Road. The postcard-style design covers about 3,000 square feet, with 11 scenes inside its block letters, including the library, the splash pad, the farmers market and music in the park, C&G Newspapers reported. City Council approved a $30,000 contract covering design, paint, wall priming and equipment rental.
Sources:
City of Sterling Heights, “Sterling Heights Wins Michigan Municipal League’s Most Prestigious Community Honor,” Oct. 15, 2026 (award, finalists, entries, quotes), https://www.sterlingheights.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?aid=2125
Michigan Municipal League, “Homegrown in Nelson Park, Sterling Heights” award entry (features, partners, sustainability details), https://mml.org/about-us/awards/community-excellence-award/community-excellence-award-entries/homegrown-in-nelson-park-sterling-heights/
Michigan Municipal League, “Sterling Heights Regrows a Beloved Third Space,” June 18, 2026 (park size, ARPA funding, construction and opening dates, bed count, artist), https://mml.org/blog/resources-research/blog/2026/06/18/sterling-heights-regrows-a-beloved-third-space/
C&G Newspapers, “Artist thrilled to make mark in hometown,” June 26, 2026 (mural size, scenes, location, $30,000 contract), https://www.candgnews.com/articles/government-news/artist-thrilled-to-make-mark-in-hometown/
Photo: Bart Everson, “2010 WiseWords community garden NewOrleans 4855100893.jpg,” July 31, 2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2010_WiseWords_community_garden_NewOrleans_4855100893.jpg
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