Sustaining a Healthy World

From prairies to woodlands, the natural areas of Illinois are filled with diverse native species. Extension provides education, resources, and stewardship to protect native plants and control invasive species. Local Extension programs focus on connecting with and sustaining the diverse ecoregions across Illinois. Check out our resources on invasive species, pollinators, and Illinois grasses. Or get involved in providing stewardship for natural areas in your community through our volunteer Master Naturalist, Watershed Steward, and Climate Stewards programs.

Nature is good for us. Natural areas provide many ecosystem services, resources, and other benefits. Connecting with nature also reduces stress, improves our mood, and helps us be active. Through local community programs, webinars, blogs, podcasts, and volunteer opportunities, Extension provides tools for Illinois residents to connect with nature and gain a greater understanding of our rivers, forests, and prairies. Check out our Everyday Environment webinar, podcast, and blog series, the Voice of the Wild podcast, and the community garden locator. Explore how to navigate everyday encounters with Illinois wildlife and be an environmental steward. 

Extension connects young people with nature and helps them grow into engaged environmental stewards. All around the state, local educators provide programming to students through conservation days, school visits, summer camps, and the Jr. Master Naturalist program. Extension also provides a water usage activity book, a solar energy coloring book, and other engaging at-home nature activities families can use. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant provides many educator resources, including lesson planner explorers on Land and Water Nutrients, Pollution Prevention, and Weather and Climate. Extension also teaches college students through a partnership with John Wood Community College and outreach events at the University of Illinois Red Oak Rain Garden. Extension Forestry program staff also teach College of ACES undergraduate courses in dendrology and chainsaw safety. 

Through our decisions and actions, we can sustain, protect, and manage water resources that sustain us. Illinois Extension plays a central role in reducing nutrient pollution in waterways as a primary partner in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy alongside the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture. Extension coordinates working groups, shares nutrient loss reduction resources with agriculture communities in four priority watersheds, and share strategies through an NLRS blog, and podcast. Extension supports clean, well-managed water through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Lawn to Lake program, the Groundwork toolkit for green stormwater infrastructure, and the Stormwater@Home series. Our rainfall management resources and the Red Oak Rain Garden connect homeowners and communities with tools to manage the effects of too much or too little rainfall. Our Watershed Stewards program educates individuals to assist and support the protection and preservation of local water resources.  

Illinois Extension is committed to addressing the pressing issues of changing climate conditions by leveraging our resources, expertise, and partnerships to prepare Illinois for a more informed and resilient future. Extension identified the environment as one of its strategic priorities, and its initiative is focused on bolstering climate resilience through education and outreach for a sustainable future. Extension has provided 43 weather and climate public programs for 960 people. The All About Weather blog and videos have been viewed 159,620 times. Explore our Weather and Climate resources and the Climate Stewards program.