2025 Michigan Urban Conservation & Community Grant Recipients

These grassroots leaders are transforming vacant and underused land into vibrant public green spaces across Southeast Michigan — including Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, St. Clair Shores, Royal Oak, Pontiac, Dearborn Heights, and Warren. Each grantee will receive up to $20,000 in funding plus hands-on support from our staff, training webinars, participation in the annual Urban Conservation & Community Peer Exchange, and scholarships to national and regional learning opportunities. 

Projects range from reclaiming vacant lots for community gardens to securing long-term park space and green infrastructure. Together, these efforts are helping communities build healthier, more resilient, and more equitable places — one green space at a time. 

• Alma Street Community Connector – Detroit
  Expanding a thriving garden into a vibrant community hub with two new parcels, a resource trailer, and a treehouse learning lab and stage. Rooted in the DEEP mission — Developing Everyone while Evolving Peacefully — this project fosters sustainability, wellness, and hands-on learning for youth and neighbors. 

• Arboretum Detroit: East Warren Filter Forest – Detroit
  Transforming eight vacant parcels into a green oasis with 100 native trees and pollinator gardens. This project buffers nearby homes from pollution, cools the neighborhood, and provides a living classroom for climate action and community pride. 

• City of Dearborn Heights: Ecorse Creek Community Plan – Dearborn Heights
  Turning flood-prone parcels along the North Branch of Ecorse Creek into resilient, nature-based public spaces. Residents are shaping the vision through workshops and community meetings, enhancing access, recreation, and flood protection. 

• Dearborn Heights Community Garden – Dearborn Heights
  Converting a long-vacant lot into the city’s first public green space, featuring raised beds, native plants, and a rain garden. Managed by residents, schools, and local partners, it grows fresh food and teaches sustainability and stewardship. 

• Saginaw Fairgrounds Community Park – Saginaw
  Restoring the historic 1929 Fairgrounds Gate and surrounding land into a welcoming park that celebrates local craftsmanship while creating vibrant gathering spaces, revitalizing the east side of Saginaw. 

• East Warren Community Arboretum & Botanical Garden – Detroit
  Six vacant lots will become a year-round sanctuary for people and pollinators, with native trees, rain gardens, and walking paths. Designed by residents, it supports environmental justice and economic opportunity. 

• Foundation 4 Future Foodies: Literacy & Garden Project – Detroit
  Combining literacy and land stewardship, this garden features a Little Free Library, butterfly garden, raised beds, and produce plots, empowering families to grow both minds and food together. 

• Flint Jackson Park Bio-Remediation Project – Flint
  Revitalizing vacant lots near Jackson Park using goats to clear invasive plants. Residents and youth improve safety, create green spaces, and transform neglected land into a community resource. 

• Emerson Housing Development Landscaping Plan – Pontiac
  Landscaping around 50 senior homes with Michigan-native trees, grasses, and shrubs. This project models sustainable housing design rooted in ecological stewardship and community wellbeing. 

• Brightmoor Orchard & Compost Commons – Detroit
  Reclaiming two vacant lots for a mini-orchard and compost hub that feeds, educates, and empowers the community. Residents participate in planting, maintaining, and managing sustainable food production. 

• Native Plant & Dye Garden – Detroit
  Transforming the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm into a living classroom celebrating native plants, art, and healing. The garden restores pollinator habitat and hosts workshops in natural dyeing, herbalism, and fiber arts. 

• Pontiac Citizen Robotics Partnership – Pontiac
  Developing 3D-printed housing alongside a new conservation area along the Clinton River. This project integrates innovative housing solutions with protected green space, recreation, and environmental resilience. 

• Amber Cove Mindfulness Sanctuary – Detroit
  Creating Detroit’s first community-owned mindfulness sanctuary with gardens, walking paths, and gathering spaces. Residents build a lasting space for healing, reflection, and cultural pride. 

• Sanctuary Farms & Sacred Spaces – Detroit
  Transforming 12 acres in the Riverbend neighborhood into regenerative farmland, nature sanctuaries, and cultural spaces that foster food sovereignty, composting, and environmental justice. 

• Saginaw River Headwaters Rec Area Expansion – Saginaw
  Expanding access and restoration by nearly 50 acres at the confluence of two rivers. Volunteers plant trees, remove invasive species, and design amenities like accessible fishing platforms to connect residents to land and water. 

• Southwest Detroit Youth Park Design Project – Detroit
  Nine teens lead the design and construction of a new community park, creating gardens, seating, and art installations that transform vacant land into a youth-led space for creativity and connection. 

• Transform Communities Network: Healing Spaces Project – Detroit
  Turning two vacant lots into healing gardens with butterfly habitats, yoga spaces, and free Wi-Fi. The site will host family workshops, cooking classes, and community events that promote wellness and pride. 

• We the People of Detroit: Flood Resilience Partnership – Detroit
  Residents and the city’s Office of Sustainability implement Green Stormwater Infrastructure to address flooding. Community input drives solutions, building climate resilience, local capacity, and equity. 

• YCA Detroit Plant & Thrive – Detroit
  Transforming vacant lots into sustainable gardens that strengthen food security, health, and community pride. Hands-on gardening education connects residents to restored biodiversity and green spaces.