Wilkes-Barre City Health Department Community Garden

The Wilkes-Barre City Health Department's community garden is located on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, adjacent to the South Street Bridge. In its second year of existence, the garden was created through the cooperation of Geisinger's Kistler Clinic. Due to success of the garden's first season, it has expanded to 18 beds, two of which are handicap accessible.

"Wilkes-Barre's community garden is a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to learn about the environment and socialize with other residents, neighbors and partners. In addition, the garden will provide recreational space in the city and fresh produce," said Mayor Thomas M. Leighton.

The seeds and seedlings that were planted in the garden were provided by the City of Wilkes-Barre and include lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, radishes, carrots, red beets, green beans, yellow beans, cucumbers, squash zucchini and cauliflower. The seedlings were started by children from the Commission on Economic Opportunity, The McGlynn Learning Center, the Penn State Cooperative Extension/4-H and students from the Green Initiative group at King's College.

Wilkes-Barre’s community garden will be maintained by over 100 volunteers from local businesses and organizations, including health department employees, residents of the B'Nai B'Rith Apartments, Boulevard Town Homes and a group of children from Holy Rosary Church.

Recently, employees from Wilkes-Barre City Health Department spent an afternoon contributing to Wilkes-Barre's Citwide Spring Cleanup by collecting a large amount of trash and debris in the area surrounding the garden. A bountiful harvest is anticipated and will be shared with each sponsoring agency.

For more information on the Community Garden, please contact the Wilkes-Barre City Health Department at 208.4268.