But the area had been neglected for decades. Crime was rampant, wildlife grew untamed and trash littered the landscape, he said.

And when Nikolai stumbled upon a dog carcass behind the remains of a building, he realized the scope of the project.

Nikolai and other MSU researchers had won a $150,000 grant from The Scotts Co. LLC to maintain the park and observe the social and environmental effects of maintaining lawns in urban communities.

“It really was a shock,” Nikolai said. “(The area) is pretty down-and-out. The feeling overall was it just made people (in Flint) feel pretty bad about themselves.”

More than a year later, Nikolai and other MSU researchers have helped make Flint a greener place, as the park — located between Grand Traverse Street and Stone Street — has reopened for use by the public and now is a site for neighborhood recreation.

But Flint still has a long way to go, assistant professor of sociology Stephen Gasteyer said. Despite the community’s improvement during the past few years, the area around the park still struggles with vandalism and robberies.

Still, residents have come together to change that, said Gasteyer, who conducted interviews with neighborhood residents throughout the process.

“It’s interesting to see the extent to which people saw this as part of a broader social effort,” Gasteyer said.

The process was slow-moving at first, as cleanup crews had to clear away trash and remnants of destroyed buildings before the mowing and planting could begin, longtime Flint resident David Caswell said.

“It was the (most ragged) piece of land you ever saw in your life,” Caswell said.

Caswell, a retired principal who has lived in the area for 43 years, said the neighborhood association encouraged residents to get involved with the project.

Nikolai continues to mow the park’s lawn once a week and apply fertilizers and herbicides. Deere & Co. also donated mowers to both MSU and community members to maintain upkeep of the park, he said.

Although community members have used the park for gatherings since it has been reopened, last Saturday marked the first time Nikolai got to see the project really pay off, as the neighborhood association hosted a picnic for more than 50 people.

“(Cleaning up the park) was something I just felt like I had to do,” he said. “Watching these kids play in the park this weekend was really neat, so to me it’s been really rewarding.”

Community members said the park’s renovation has been a positive experience for the researchers and residents alike.

“People thought nothing would ever come of it,” Caswell said. “They’d look at it and say, ‘Why bother?’ But by putting the project in there and working hard, we were able to take an eyesore and turn it into a really lovely landscape.”