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

Extension offers support to build resiliency in farmers affected by climate stress and grief

A growing body of literature documents the mental health impacts of climate change on the general population, but with little focus on food producers that traditionally are less likely to seek out mental health support. However,...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Extension equips Baker County land managers to face the challenge of invasive and noxious weeds

Invasive and noxious weeds are one of the leading causes of land degradation in Eastern Oregon. Affected areas include over 500,000 acres of range and pastureland and countless miles of streams and waterways. It’s difficult for...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

4-H Adulting 101 workshop series gives Lane County youths valuable life skills

Oregon State University Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program in Lane County had been receiving requests for more programs that offered youths readiness skills that schools don’t always have time for. With schools having the...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

PSA campaign equips Central Oregon to become a fire-adapted community

Wildfire starts in Central Oregon have increased as more people recreate in local forests, build campfires, use equipment and burn debris to manage their properties. Climate change combined with a century of fire suppression has ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Hybrid Master Food Preservation certification diversifies volunteer program

Interest in home food preservation has surged since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and Google search trends indicate that Oregonians’ interest in home canning ranks ninth nationally. As an increasing number of Oregonians ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Klamath County Master Gardeners design and deliver ‘DIY’ irrigation program

Water for outdoor use has been restricted in Klamath County in recent years, raising concerns about traditional lawns and the resources needed to maintain them. Gardeners lament that irrigation companies in the area install older ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

New ‘Library of Things’ food preservation collections benefit Eastern Oregonians

In Eastern Oregon, a dearth of grocery stores, a challenging climate for food production and the high costs of transporting food create a food security issue for the region’s residents. Additionally, the equipment needed to ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Partnership educates Clatsop County Hispanic-Latinx residents about natural hazards

Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic in Oregon and often work in coastal industries located in high tsunami risk areas. This creates a necessity for natural hazard preparedness materials that consider the specific needs and ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Education efforts result in residential awareness to defend structures against wildfires

Wildfires are natural occurrences of ecological value, but when wildfires threaten the built environment, significant negative impacts may occur. Research on structure damage in wildfire events demonstrates that building materials and ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story

Extension responds to inequities with emergency preparedness events for Lincoln County’s Latino and Mesoamerican Indigenous residents

The 2020 Echo Mountain Complex Fire that burned over 2,500 acres and impacted 368 structures in Lincoln County exposed the communication inequities and gaps in resources for the county’s Latino and Indigenous Mesoamerican ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story