Connect. Learn. Grow.

hand screwing on lid of glass jar filled with peach preserves

Preserve Homegrown Foods

Enjoy garden-fresh foods all year long by preserving at home! From freezing to canning, the art of food preservation is not as difficult as you might first believe. Explore recipes, safety tips, and what you’ll need to get started.

2022 gardeners corner fall

Fall into Gardening

As the seasons change, so does the garden routine. Soon we'll be moving from weeding and watering to cleaning up and harvesting. Save time and money with expert advice on everything from planting fall blooming flowers to prepping trees for severe weather.
Cottage food training course

Cottage Food Training

Starting a home-based food business? Get a head start on understanding the laws, certifications, processes, and practices required to safely and legally run a cottage food operation in Illinois.
rain falling in street

Dealing with Rainfall

Whether you have too much or too little, rain can be a challenge. A summer storm can flood washes away landscaping and flood streets while droughts stretch water resources. Explore tools to help you manage rainfall for your home or community.
Eat. Move. Save. text logo

Budget-Friendly Nutrition Tips

Make healthier choices for your family on any budget. Find your healthy lifestyle with Eat. Move. Save.
Illinois Master Gardener

Master Gardener Training

Gain practical experience and horticulture knowledge straight from Extension educators so you can positively impact your community.
Birds at edge of water

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.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Find Food IL community food map

Find Local Food Resources

Find all food assistance sites closest to your Illinois zip code, including food pantries, school meal sites, and grocery stores and farmers markets that accept WIC/SNAP.
TEConomy report

Economic and Functional Value

A new report finds that Extension provides more than $600 million annual benefit to Illinois, ten times its budget. Read the report.
Hispanic Family

En Espanol

La Extensión de la Universidad de Illinois es el principal alcance emblemático de la Universidad de Illinois en Urbana-Champaign, que ofrece programas educativos a los residentes de los 102 condados de Illinois, y mucho más.
group of children gather around a raised bed garden listening to an older woman holding vegetables
Community gardens fight food insecurity close to home
Illinois is home to some of the most fertile soils in the world. No one should go hungry here. Every year, Illinois Extension staff and Master Gardener volunteers around the state fight food insecurity with fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden.
hand putting coins into a pink piggy bank
Find financial freedom, reach your money goals with guidance from Extension experts
Financial education and coaching can make a huge difference in people’s lives. That's why Illinois Extension consumer economic staff and volunteers make financial discussions easy to understand through workshops and webinars.
a young white girl and white boy hold baby chicks in front of a tub holding more chicks
Finding common ground: Extension connects public with agriculture

Whether large commercial agriculture operations, small farms, or community and backyard gardens, the future of our food supply relies on the use of practices that boost production and capacity.

Woman in hat and sunglasses stands in rain garden
Red Oak Rain Garden welcomes April showers
The Red Oak Rain Garden is a 10,000-square-foot demonstration site on the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus that is designed to soak up rainwater, provide wildlife habitat, and educate visitors about sustainable landscape design.
industrial hemp
Farmers, researchers break ground with new guidelines for budding hemp crop
By collecting data from more than 180 hemp growers over the past two years, Illinois Extension researchers now have a better understanding of how to produce hemp and are sharing that information directly with growers through the Midwestern Hemp Database.
map of soil lead concentration in Chicago area
Is there lead in your soil? New Chicago-area map tells you
Leftover from paint, gasoline, and other sources, lead lingers in urban environments where it can be a health risk for anyone in contact with the soil - from children playing in mud puddles to backyard gardeners. University researchers worked with communities to identify lead hotspots.
Upcoming Events

  1. Bloomin' Bulbs | Kankakee County
    Kankakee County Extension Office (Kankakee County)
  2. Fall Tree Planting | Macoupin County
    Macoupin County Extension or Online (Macoupin County)
  3. Terrarium Workshop
    4-H Building, Coles County Fairgrounds (Coles County)
  4. Peoria Master Gardener Board Meeting
    University of Illinois Extension - Peoria County branch office (Peoria County)
  5. Vermiculture Training
    1650 Commerce Drive, Bourbonnais (Kankakee County)
More Events