Connect. Learn. Grow.

seedlings growing in cardboard container

Let's Grow Together

The popular Growing Great Vegetables 5-week webinar series is back starting this February. Topics include: Where will you garden
group of people standing in forest

Begin to Manage your Forest

Own a forest, but not sure how to care for it? Apply for the Beginning Forest Landowner Program in Southern Illinois! Get hands-on experience in both the in-person and online course and explore forest ecology, tree identification, timber harvesting, pres
Green graphic: Get Savvy Grow Your Green Stuff

Grow Your Green Stuff

Learn how to make the most of your financial resources and explore techniques for investing, saving money, smart spending, handling price increases, starting a side hustle, or managing your student loans in this series.
winter scene

Be Prepared for Winter

When temperatures plunge, don’t take chances. Weather whatever winter throws at you – your home, your family, your health – with confidence.
herbicide sprayer spraying over wheat

Take a Pesticide Applicator Test

The Pesticide Safety Education Program is offering in person and online training and certification now through March to help Applicators and Operators meet their goals.
plants growing in dirt

Help the Environment

Small changes in your personal life can have positive impacts on the environment. Explore how prescribed burns work, how to build better soils, and more.
family blue background

Terrific Teachable Moments

Looking for simple activities that reinforce positive youth behaviors, such as problem-solving and honesty? The Terrific Teachable Moments app is grounded in social emotional learning and puts 150+ lessons right at your fingertips.
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Take the Master Gardener Training

Gain practical experience and horticulture knowledge straight from Extension educators so you can positively impact your community.
master naturalist

Advocate for the Environment

Love nature? The Master Naturalist program works with adult volunteers to support natural spaces and wildlife around Illinois as environmental stewards.

Woman outside holds sign in front of packets of frozen venison
Illinois Extension helps provide nearly 25,000 meals through 12-county Deer Donation Program
More than 24,500 plates in East Central Illinois were full this winter thanks to the Illinois Extension Deer Donation Program. The 12-county pilot program fights food insecurity by connecting hunters with meat processors and food pantries. ​
caucasian woman stands in front of map of Mercer County 4-H clubs
50 years of changing lives with 4-H
When Joyce Smith’s children joined 4-H in the 1970s, little did she know it would be the start of a half-century journey. Now, Mercer County 4-H is celebrating the 50th year of Smith's work uplifting and helping to shape youth into leaders and community builders.
Galena Illinois downtown storefronts
Bring life to empty downtown buildings
Communities big and small across Illinois struggle with vacant buildings. These properties can have a ripple effect that harms the local economy, lowers property values, and impacts the safety and quality of life for residents and visitors. Explore options for municipalities to recapture a property's value to build healthy, prosperous communities.
A young man uses a sprayer in a tree
Pest Success: 4-H member starts business, wins national award for bio-pesticide
After moving to the U.S. as a child, Matias Habib felt like an outsider. He struggled with language barriers and social anxiety and was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through the University of Illinois Extension 4-H science program, Habib found community and confidence and now has a growing ag business.
Rotting jack o' lantern
Don’t dump Halloween pumpkins, donate or compost them
Every year, come November billions of jack-o’-lanterns whose wilting faces are now past their prime need to find a new home. Instead of tossing them into the trash or dumping them in a natural area, compost them!
three monarch butterflies rest on a tree branch in the early morning light
The Hunt for Orange October: Master Naturalists track monarchs
On their annual 3,000 mile migration to Mexico, monarch butterflies rest in select trees. A group of Illinois Extension volunteers, The Secret Society of Monarch Roost Hunters, scout for these roosts and report their findings as part of a community science research project to help this at-risk species.
Upcoming Events

  1. Kendall County Master Gardener Seed Swap
    Kendall County Extension Office (Kendall County)
  2. Clark and Edgar Counties 4-H Public Speaking Contest
    4-H Clubhouse (Clark County), (Edgar County)
  3. Wayne County Cake Decorating Workshop
    Wayne County Extension Office (Wayne County)
  4. 4-H E-Sports Workshop
    Western Illilnois University, Moline, IL (Rock Island County)
  5. Let it Dough Bread Making Workshop
    Illinois Valley Community College, Room CTC - 123 (LaSalle County)
More Events