For more than 30 years, volunteers have rolled up their sleeves every spring to clear debris, weed, rake, paint and spruce sidewalks and streetscapes in the City of Scranton as part of Scranton City Pride. Scranton Tomorrow leaders created the program in the early 1990s with a focus on maintaining parks and community greenspaces. Since then, the program has grown and changed along with the community it serves.
Steve Ward, Project Director, Safe, Clean, Green & Design programs, Scranton Tomorrow.
Learn About Scranton City Pride: A Q&A with Scranton Tomorrow’s Steve Ward
With Scranton City Pride 2026 just around the corner (May 26 to June 6), we caught up with Steve Ward, project director of the Safe, Clean, Green & Design programs at Scranton Tomorrow, to talk all things beautification in the Electric City.
You’ve been organizing Scranton City Pride since 2021. How has the program grown since then?
It’s grown in two important ways. First, we added new partners, NeighborWorks Northeastern PA and United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA (UNC). Those partnerships really amplify what we offer through this program. Second, City Pride has gone from a program focused solely on cleanups to a program that includes cleanups, service projects and beautification efforts. We want to send a positive message that our community is worth investing in, and there are lots of ways everyone can participate.
Everyone is buzzin’ about the pollinator gardens in downtown Scranton! During a past Scranton City Pride week, volunteers brought this one to life in front of The Good of the Hive mural in the back of Scranton Civic Ballet Company at 234 Mifflin Ave.
What’s the difference between a cleanup and a beautification project?
A cleanup is cleaning up litter, any kind of debris, blight or graffiti while beautification includes tasks like weeding or planting annuals or perennials. Anything non-litter related falls into the beautification category.
Who is a good candidate to volunteer for City Pride?
Anybody can volunteer if they have an hour or two, and we will work around people’s interests, abilities and age.
In just the last two years, 5,974 volunteers have completed 95 projects and participated in 335 hours of programming during City Pride. Looking back, which projects really stand out in your mind?
There have been so many outstanding projects, and they all make a difference, so it’s hard to choose, but one of the standouts was the dedication of Doherty Park (corner of Linden Street and Wyoming Avenue in downtown Scranton). That was our kickoff to City Pride two years ago. It was really nice to see that lot go from a contaminated brownfield to a public green space that everyone can enjoy. Students from Scranton School for the Deaf did most of the beautification there and some of them came to the dedication with their families.
I also really enjoyed the project at Lackawanna Blind Association last year. We planted six sensory gardens in front of their buildings. We discussed why we chose these plants based on their scent or texture and then we planted them together. From working on this project, I learned that once you get past the visual appeal of plants you have such a deeper appreciation for the world around you because plants have so much more to offer other than their appearance.
Volunteers help us keep downtown Scranton beautiful!
Why is City Pride so important to you?
For a bunch of reasons. First, it creates opportunities for everybody. It doesn’t matter how old you are or if you have physical limitations. You don’t even have to speak the language. We all have the opportunity to make the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods the best they can be.
Second, I really do have a passion for beautiful landscapes and settings. Just because you have roads and sidewalks doesn’t mean you can’t have beautiful landscaping. And we’ve seen the effects of our work. There are now five pollinator gardens downtown. We’ve had Monarch butterflies come and visit us, and they’re an endangered species, so it shows we’re doing something right. Everyone can make a difference, big or small.
Seasonal flowers add a lovely pop of color to planters in the downtown Scranton business district.
How you can help?
Scranton City Pride projects will be underway throughout the City of Scranton from May 26 to June 6. Sign up as an individual and join a group that needs your help or form a team and design a project of your own! Pre-registration is required. For more information and to register, visit our website or email Steve Ward.
Graphic courtesy of Scranton Tomorrow.
Special Thanks
Scranton City Pride is a Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful project made possible with support from American Water Charitable Foundation, Pennsylvania American Water, and Penn State Extension Master Gardeners.
Featured image (top): Volunteers showed their City Pride by planting flowers at Christopher A. Doherty Park (aka the Pocket Park) in Downtown Scranton.