If you grew up on a farm, participated in 4-H, or traveled somewhere land grant universityyou may already know how valuable your county extension office is for tips and life skills. On the other hand, if half of that sentence sounds too low, let me introduce you to the Group expansion: your hyper-local link to the research and information of 112 universities across the US
The cooperative extension system was first started in 1914 as a way for researchers to help local farmers improve production. Although they are an important resource for farming communities, every county in the country has an extension office with services tailored to the local community.
Through your extension office you will receive free information about agriculture, food, natural resources, conservation, and guidance in the form of reference books, access to experts, and events. community.
Everything ways to use your local extension office
- Ask an expert topics related to agriculture, community, environment, food, health, livestock, and youth activities. Check out thousands of questions answered, or submit your specific question for a personalized answer.
- Even if you think you’re surrounded by traffic in the city, the extension office can teach you about urban farming.
- There are also urban development agencies in the projects social justice and social relations.
- Find activities for kids. In addition to the love of 4-H school, you can find programs, activities, and events that kids will love. On a quick visit, I have a STEM day, archery, painting, wildlife habitat education, and needlework.
- Find social resources and ideas for families as they deal with death or help the child to build himselfThank you.
- Take parenting or coaching courses infant brain development.
- Learn the save food by drying, drying, shrinking, and canning. As you approach the critical stage of your home, these skills come into play.
- Plan for emergency preparedness and healing. Hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, snow storms: YOur local extension office has important advice on your country’s biggest natural threats.
- Learn how to build a fish tank and stock fish (if you have half an acre and a backhoe).
- Learn facts about local wildlife to impress your friends at parties.
- Have any visitors to your closet or those in a deep, dark closet? Find tips for identifying and controlling pests.
- Skip the mundane (but cute) farm books that don’t fit your niche, and get landscape, farming, and gardening advice that’s tailored to your specific needs.
- If you like your hobby, use the upgrade system to become a Master Gardener or Master Beekeeper.
How to find your local expansion resource
Local extension offices were created to link information between universities and communities, with the goal of “openness, accessibility, and service.” This means that the services in your county and state are directly related to your community.
Visit this link for a list of expansion programs by state and territory. Or Google “[your county] extension office.”
I browsed the website for my local extension office in Bexar County, Texas, and immediately found a ton of free resources such as educational books on theater and love children sewing work; list of plants that grow well in my area; contact information for robotics events; and free classes on rainwater harvesting and emergency response. I was lost for 15 minutes down a rabbit hole book about real development rabbits (followed by fives levels of stress of realizing I shouldn’t feed rabbits).
After you’ve explored what your local extension office has to offer, click around the websites of offices far away in Nevada, Wisconsin, or North Carolina, as they have many free extension resources. and available online, no matter where you live.