Keep Michigan Beautiful, Inc. (KMB) promotes, provides education, and recognizes beautification and restoration projects throughout the state of Michigan. KMB strives to reach every area of the state to carry out its goals.

The City of Novi recently received the KMB Award of Merit for the Fuerst Park Monarch Waystation and the Michigan Award for the ITC Corridor Trail. The City had received previous awards from KMB for Villa Barr Art Park, Novi Cemetery Restoration, Meadowbrook Commons Gazebo, Pavilion Shore Park and more.

Fuerst Park
The Fuerst Park Monarch Waystation was paid for and planted by the Novi Beautification Commission in the spring of 2015. The original garden was about 570 square feet. Since then, the Beautification Commission has maintained the butterfly garden by weeding and occasionally adding more plants. In 2016, a 2,400-square-foot area adjacent to the waystation that had been planted every year with an annual flower mix, was planted with a perennial butterfly mix. Since then, the perennials and native grasses have gradually taken over from the annuals and butterflies now are seen using the original garden and the seeded area.

Plants in the garden include common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly milkweed, Prairie dock, Cupplant, Mountain mint, sand coreopsis, nodding wild onion, Wild bergamot, garden phlox, Canada wild rye, Indian grass, yellow coneflower, Golden alexander, Smooth aster, New England Aster, Stiff goldenrod, showy goldenrod, black-eyed Susan, wild strawberry, ironweed, false sunflower and Penstemon. The garden is an oasis in a sea of mowed grass for butterflies in the center of Novi.

ITC Corridor Trail
The ITC Corridor Trail is a 4.66-mile trail developed as a collaboration between the City of Novi and ITC Holdings Corp. It traverses the entire city from north to south, connecting the Ascension Providence Hospital campus to ITC Community Sports Park.

This trail links regional facilities - such as Maybury Park, the I-275 Corridor and Hines Park - in the neighboring communities of Northville, Livonia and Westland with parks in Novi. Park enthusiasts are able to hike and bicycle between different parks and communities instead of risking sharing traffic lanes with motor vehicles or packing their equipment into their own motorized vehicle to reach a destination.

Using the trail assists with improved personal health and the environmental health by cutting back on motorized vehicle emissions. This corridor strengthens the local economy, helps to build sustainable communities and improves the quality of life by creating new recreational opportunities. The trail is an important piece in the overall plan for linking recreation throughout the state.

The community has provided overwhelming positive feedback about the ITC Corridor Trail via social media posts and in public comment at City meetings. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased usage of the trail and even neighboring communities have begun utilizing the trail for organized group rides and walks.