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Helping Others Grow
Discover the 50-year Master Gardener legacy and join the mission of community enrichment through the art and science of gardening.
Grow Your Food Business
Learn about the laws, certifications, processes, and practices required to run a home-based cottage food operation safely and legally in Illinois.
Wildlife is Everywhere
Learn how to support Illinois wildlife and navigate everyday wildlife encounters with research-based information you can trust.
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SNAP-Ed: Nutrition Education That Works
SNAP-Education transforms the health of our Illinois communities, providing evidence-based nutrition education, healthy messaging, and strategic partnerships to deliver services. In 2024, Illinois SNAP-Ed reached over 1 million residents through the Eat.Move.Save. program, which helps SNAP participants stretch their food dollars, shop for and prepare healthy meals, and adopt more physically active lifestyles.
- Illinois SNAP-Ed returns up to $9.54 for each dollar spent on programming by reducing obesity, food insecurity, and healthcare costs.
- Illinois SNAP-Ed is estimated to prevent 5,060 cases of obesity and 570 cases of food insecurity for Illinois adults and children in a single year.
- Illinois SNAP-Ed is estimated to generate discounted future societal benefits between $76.0 million and $135.3 million for one year of programming.
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A Strategic Path for Extension Impact
Throughout 2023 and early 2024, Illinois Extension, in partnership with Huron Consulting Group, engaged in a comprehensive planning process to refine and refresh its core priorities, goals, and paths to success through internal and external stakeholder surveys, focus groups, and listening sessions statewide. The research yielded vital findings around Extension’s engagement, services, partnerships, and impact and identified shifting trends, demographics, and needs that will impact Illinois residents.
How 4-H shaped a lifetime of service for Bea Bagby
URBANA, Ill. — For Beatrice H. Bagby, known to most as Bea, 4-H wasn’t just a club. It was a lifeline. A spark. A community. And ultimately, a calling.
Bea found Illinois 4-H in the wake of unimaginable grief. In May 1946, her mother passed away. Bea was just 12 years old.
“The…
Include Farm Animals in Disaster Preparedness Plan
URBANA — When tornado sirens become frequent and sudden storms appear out of thin air, it becomes apparent there is a need for a disaster preparedness plan for farmers and large animal owners alike. What happens when disaster strikes and a herd of cattle are grazing pasture?
Dr. Yvette…
Learn how to manage invasive species online and in the field with statewide hybrid course
URBANA, Ill. — From your backyard to the local forest, invasive species have big environmental and economic impacts. Learn how to manage invasive plants in Introduction to Invasive Species Management, a two-day hybrid program led by University of Illinois Extension educators that starts with a…
2025 DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt County 4-H Horse Show
Neighborhood Gardeners
