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Preserve Fresh Food
Preserving food can make the most of a big harvest so you can enjoy homegrown, locally purchased, or seasonal foods throughout the year. Choose from a variety of safe food preservation methods, and use a tested recipe.
Wild Parsnip Precaution
Some plants, like wild parsnip, come with cautions. This yellow-blooming forb, found throughout Illinois, can cause severe blister-like chemical burns when its sap comes into contact with skin and is exposed to UV light. Explore ways to identify and manage wild parsnip.
Summer Food Safety
Keep friends and family safe during hot weather, picnics, and cookouts by following safe food-handling practices. Thaw frozen meat with one of four safe methods, cook to a safe internal temperature, and refrigerate perishable foods within two hours.
Plan Your Garden
Growing your own produce brings many rewards, and the gardening game is already underway for many gardeners across Illinois!
Whether you're starting your own plants from seed or purchasing transplants, it's a good idea to plan your garden to maximize both space and the growing season. Extension has expert tips on planning, planting, growing, and managing a great garden.
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.
Recent News
The word “community” is often used to describe both people and nature, and for good reason. Each are groups of individuals sharing a space as they live and grow. It’s in this same spirit of collective progress that the University of Illinois Extension natural…
URBANA, Ill. — Grasses play a big role in natural ecosystems — from controlling soil erosion to supporting pollinators to providing food for livestock — but telling one from another isn’t always easy. This summer, learn the basics of grass identification and how…
URBANA, Ill. — Current technology puts health information at our fingertips, but not all of it is reliable. As misleading content spreads quickly online, communities need clear, science‑based guidance more than ever. That’s why educators, researchers, and community partners are collaborating to…
