Extension Service

The Oregon State University Extension Service provides practical, research-based information and engages learners, partners, and volunteers in communities across Oregon to meet local challenges and help every Oregonian thrive.

Our programs, partnerships and volunteer opportunities are focused on:

  • Healthy communities and economies
  • Resilient and productive forestry and natural ecosystems
  • Sustainable agriculture, food systems, and gardening
  • Thriving youth, individuals and families

Born from necessity, Extension wildflower videos viewed hundreds of times

Each year, Rachel Werling, an instructor in the Oregon State University Forestry and Natural Resources Extension program, leads groups on hikes in in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley to teach them about natural history, fire ...

Jun 2020 | Impact Story

Surveys show revised OSU Woodland Stick satisfies majority of users

Professional foresters have access to myriad tools that measure tree size (height and diameter) and determine wood volume in individual or multiple trees. However, these tools can be expensive and complex for landowners who need ...

Jun 2020 | Impact Story

Oregon Tech Trek results in increased interest among girls in STEM careers

STEM careers are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying in the United States, yet they are still dominated by men, particularly computer science (26% female) and engineering (12% female). Research has shown that females and ...

Jun 2020 | Impact Story

OSU Extension leads effort to bring Blue Zones Project to The Dalles

Like many communities across the United States, The Dalles has struggled with the health and well-being of its residents. By many measurements, access to nutritious food, good health care and fitness opportunities fell short in ...

May 2020 | Impact Story

Urban cosmetologists raise money for Hopkins Demonstration Forest

Private family forests often border the cities where most Oregonians live, but public understanding of management practices is lacking. It is an ongoing challenge to sustain private woodlands and engage urban audiences in ...

Mar 2020 | Impact Story

4-H youths in Josephine County pack and deliver stockings for soldiers and veterans

Civic engagement is an important aspect of adolescent development and a core theme of 4-H education, and for the last 10+ years hundreds of soldiers and veterans have opened packages filled with stockings and filled by Oregon ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Master Woodland Manager volunteers improve Lane County forest health

Forests cover 85% of Lane County and have long been considered a major jewel in the crown of the county’s natural resources. Lane County’s family woodland owners play a vital role in forest management, providing substantial ...

Apr 2021 | Impact Story

Partnership builds forest management expertise in northeast Oregon

Forest landowners in northeast Oregon face the ramifications of nearly 100 years of fire suppression. Facing marginal timber prices, landowners require financial assistance to carry out much-needed fuels reduction and forest thinning ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

OSU wheat and barley field trial helps growers make annual variety choices

In 2020, wheat was Oregon's sixth-largest commodity, with a value at the farm gate of $273.7 million. While barley production is substantially lower than wheat production, the grain is an important rotation crop in many parts ...

Feb 2021 | Impact Story

High Desert Garden Tour educates gardeners on growing conditions

Gardeners in the fast-growing high desert of Central Oregon encounter a short growing season, limited precipitation, frost any day of the year, and lackluster soil. Both ornamentals and food are a challenge to raise successfully. ...

Apr 2024 | Impact Story