Anything You Should Use Your Local Sub Office for (but Don’t Use)

If you grew up on a farm, participated in a 4-H program, or attended a land-grant university , you probably already know what a rich resource your county extension office is for professional advice and life skills. On the other hand, if half of this sentence sounds like gibberish, let me introduce you to the Cooperative Extension : your hyperlocal link to the research and experience of 112 US universities.

The Cooperative Extension System was officially launched in 1914 so that researchers could help local farmers improve their working methods. While they continue to be an important resource for farming communities, there is an extension office in every county in the country that provides community-focused services.

Through your branch office, you have free access to information about horticulture, food, natural resources, conservation and leadership in the form of reference publications, access to experts and community events.

All ways to use the local extension office

• Ask an expert about agriculture, society, environment, food, health, animals and youth activities. Browse thousands of questions that have already been answered, or submit your specific request for a personal response.
• Even if you feel like you’re surrounded by pavement in the city, the expansion office can teach you about urban farming.
• Some city extension offices have social justice and community engagement programs.
• Find activities for kids. In addition to your favorite 4-H institution, you can find projects, prints, and activities that kids will love. Quick browsing, I found a day of STEM, archery, painting, wildlife habitat training, and crafts.
• Look for social and emotional resources for families, such as coping with a death or helping a child build self-esteem.
• Take a parenting course or learn more about child brain development .
• Learn how to preserve foods by drying, freezing, pickling, and canning. Once you get past your Cottage Core stage, these skills will come in handy.
• Emergency preparedness and recovery plan. Hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, snowstorms: your local help desk has important advice on the most severe natural hazards in your area.
• Learn how to build a pond and populate it with fish (if you have an extra half acre and an excavator).
• Learn facts about the local wildlife to impress your party friends.
• Do you have suspicious visitors in your pantry or deep dark closet? Find tips on pest identification and control.
• Skip the generic (but beautiful) gardening books that barely apply to your hardiness zone and get landscaping, gardening, and lawn tips tailored to your specific geography.
• If you are really passionate about your hobby, use the expansion system to become a master gardener or a master beekeeper.

How to find local extension resources

Local extension offices were created to bridge the knowledge gap between universities and communities with the goal of “openness, accessibility and service”. This means services in your county and your state will be especially relevant to your community.

Click here for a list of expansion programs by state and territory. Or google “[ your county ] extension office”.

I browsed the website of my local expansion office in Bexar County, Texas and quickly found tons of free resources such as educational booklets about theater and sewing projects for kids; lists of plants that grow well in my area; contact information for robotics events; and free rainwater harvesting and stress relief classes. I even got lost for 15 minutes in a rabbit hole pamphlet about raising real rabbits (followed by five stages of grief at the realization that I probably shouldn’t be raising rabbits).

After you explore what your local extension office has to offer, check out the websites of outlying agencies in Nevada, Wisconsin, or North Carolina because many extension resources are free and available online, wherever you live.