"You don't have a garden just for yourself.  You have it to share."
-  Augusta Carter

Our Mission

The Center for Landscape Design & Stewardship (CLDS) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It was founded in 2008 for the purpose of promoting environmental and community sustainability through landscape-based education, demonstration, and public outreach.

The CLDS offers adult and youth education programs, professionally designed gardens for inspiration, demonstration, and horticultural study, as well as community gardens for food production and hands-on study in order to:

• Promote ecological awareness, appreciation for nature, and understanding of natural processes.
• Practice and promote sustainable design concepts and bio-intensive agriculture techniques.
• Promote gardening as a way to improve physical and mental health.
• Promote appreciation and preservation of the cultural landscape resources within Pennsylvania that contribute to its unique heritage and cultural identity.
• Become a place of learning, discovery, and fun for all members of the Greater Hazleton community.

The ultimate goal of the CLDS is to add value to our community by encouraging others to create more livable, meaningful, and sustainable environments.

The Center has established partnerships with local municipalities, garden clubs, the Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, academic institutions, local businesses, conservation organizations, state agencies, and other non-profit organizations with complimentary missions in order to provide opportunities to share knowledge, coordinate educational programs and events, conduct research, and promote greater interest in sustainable agriculture, ecological design, and stewardship.