KINGSTON — Spring is in the air — and with it, a new crop of community gardens.
The Green Neighbors Network, a local nonprofit organization, is building a new community garden in Kingston. Jayanne Czerniakowski, the founder and leader of the Green Neighbors Network, said she has launched the planting campaign to create a much needed, free outdoor space for children and families to come together and celebrate nature.
“There are going to be a lot of really great things around here,” Czerniakowski said. “I want it to be a little bit whimsical for people and just get out into nature.”
Czerniakowski said the idea to build community gardens first struck her last year when she went to several area clean-up, arts-and-crafts, and garden events with her granddaughter. She started a small garden in her backyard, but soon set her eyes on a bigger goal. In October, she purchased a vacant lot on Frederick Street nearby her home where she is now planting the garden.
After all work is complete, Czerniakowski said the Frederick Street garden is set to have 16 flower beds, rows of berry bushes and as many as five fruit trees, and seating area. Already, brightly colored fencing with painted scenes of nature and the night sky adorn the garden and planting is set to begin in May, in order to protect any plants from Northeastern Pennsylvania’s stubbornly frosty Aprils.
“My goal is to have it be a community garden, like a little bit of an education center for things at no cost for people,” Czerniakowski said.
Jayanne Czerniakowski with 6-year-old granddaughter, Ayonna DeGraffenreid, and 7-year-old friend, Carter Redmond at their Frederick Street community garden. (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
A portion of the fence painted to say ‘Green Neighbors Network,’ at a community garden in Kingston on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Volunteers work at the Frederick Street community garden in Kingston (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski).
Jayanne Czerniakowski with 6-year-old granddaughter, Ayonna DeGraffenreid, and 7-year-old friend, Carter Redmond at their Frederick Street community garden. (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
Volunteers work at the Frederick Street community garden in Kingston (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski).
Volunteers work at the Frederick Street community garden in Kingston (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski).
Volunteers work at the Frederick Street community garden in Kingston (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski).
An area of materials needed to complete a community garden in Kingston on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A community garden in Kingston on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
An interactive snake made of rocks at a community garden in Kingston on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
An information paper at a community garden in Kingston on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A cluster of flowers at a community garden in Kingston on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Jayanne Czerniakowski with 6-year-old granddaughter, Ayonna DeGraffenreid, and 7-year-old friend, Carter Redmond at their Frederick Street community garden. (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE/STAFF PHOTO)
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Czerniakowski said a resource like a community garden was an especially valuable resource for education in nature in more urban environments of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“In the city, kids don’t have exposure to a lot of nature things,” Czerniakowski said. “This way at least they’re outside, they come over here. They don’t have to go all the way to Dallas or Bear Creek, or Mountain Top. We’ll do it right here.”
When she first purchased the lot for the Frederick Street garden in the fall, Czerniakowski held a meet and greet at which she was introduced to a local arborist and Pennsylvania State University master gardener, who she said have expressed interest in holding programming at the site.
In the coming months, Green Neighbors Network will also partner with other local organizations for other wellness and learning initiatives. Czerniakowski said a yoga instructor has made plans to use the garden, as well as local 4-H, Girl Scout, and Scouting America troops. And to promote education about nature, Czerniakowski said she has partnered with the Luzerne County Conservation District, which scheduled to visit the garden June 6 to deliver a presentation about mosquitos and ticks; and plans to schedule events with beekeepers. As the garden grows, Czerniakowski said she also hopes to have local artists come to host activities for the neighborhood.
Czerniakowski is even getting help from Amazon, which has awarded the Green Neighbors Network support from its Community Grant Fund in celebration of its work that “fosters environmental stewardship by bringing people together.”
“I’ve had a great outpouring of people reaching out,” Czerniakowski said.
Czerniakowski’s efforts are not limited to the garden on Frederick Street. Over the last several months, Czerniakowski has also partnered with teachers and students to build a school garden apiece for the Jenny Lynn Preparatory School & Jenny Lynn Academy, which her granddaughter attends. Czerniakowski visits the schools each month to do nature and planting lessons with the students. Last week, Czerniakowski visited Jenny Lynn to begin planting with the students at the school garden for spring.
Jenny Lynn students work with Jayanne Czerniakowski on their school gardens (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski)
Jenny Lynn students work with Jayanne Czerniakowski on their school gardens (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski)
Jenny Lynn students work with Jayanne Czerniakowski on their school gardens (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski)
Jenny Lynn students work with Jayanne Czerniakowski on their school gardens (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski)
Jenny Lynn students work with Jayanne Czerniakowski on their school gardens (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski)
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Jenny Lynn students work with Jayanne Czerniakowski on their school gardens (courtesy of Jayanne Czerniakowski)
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Linda Ferraro, an owner and teacher at Jenny Lynn, said the partnership with Czerniakowski was a “very good fit,” benefiting students with experience with hands-on planting, helping students grow their own individual plants and reading them books about nature.
“It was very interesting for them and they were very excited,” Ferraro said. “It was really memorable for the kids.”
Ferraro said she thought Czerniakowski’s gardening efforts would be a tremendous benefit to the community.
“I think it’s going to be great for Kingston, I really do,” Ferraro said. “We needed something like this, to see someone creating beauty and something alive.”
Work in building the gardens has been an all-hands-on-deck affair, with Czerniakowski’s family, as well as volunteers throughout the community. When a reporter for The Citizens’ Voice met with Czerniakowski earlier this month, she was working with her 6-year-old granddaughter, Ayonna DeGraffenreid, and her 7-year-old friend, Carter Redmond. They both expressed enthusiasm for the garden and were glad it was accessible to the whole community.
“I think about the garden, like some people can come here,” Redmond said. “If vegetables grow, they can pick them, and cut them and eat them for dessert.”
DeGraffenreid said she enjoyed spending time with her grandmother, or her “Noni” and helping work to a cause that would benefit the community. When asked about the importance of the garden, she recited her Girl Scout motto.
“We have to clean it up better than we found it,” DeGraffenreid said.
Those interested in contributing to the garden can learn more at the Green Neighbors Network page on Facebook.
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