Extension has evolved to meet today’s needs, but its mission remains the same: to provide practical, how-to information based on current research.
UAF’s Cooperative Extension Service is part of the largest informal education system in the world. Extension faculty and staff serve some 50,000 Alaskans annually, interpreting and extending relevant university, research-based knowledge in an understandable and usable form to Alaska’s diverse cultures and communities. Extension offers hundreds of publications and videos, written and produced by university specialists, which contain practical information of interest to Alaska residents. Most publications are free and available online.
Faculty and staff are located in Anchorage, Bethel, Delta Junction, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kodiak, Nome, Palmer, Sitka, and Soldotna. They travel widely throughout the state in person and deliver expertise through video production and virtual conferences.
At Extension offices, you’ll find
• Brochures and publications with research-based information on topics related to your home, family and safety.
• Volunteer opportunities for youth and adults.
• Programs for youth and adults like 4-H, diabetes prevention classes, and exercise.
• Master Gardener training and pest management information
Extension provides information and programs in the areas of
• Food preparation and food preservation
• Nutrition
• Family resource management
• Youth development
• Energy efficiency
• Gardening, composting and soils
• Greenhouse structures and management
• Livestock
• Invasive plants and pest management
• Indoor air quality and radon
• Emergency preparedness
Preserving Alaska food safely
More than 1,000 Alaskans take our hands-on food preservation and food safety classes — which are offered in person and virtually — every year. Many others use our publications, a series of videos on canning, freezing, drying and pickling foods, and more than 20 interactive online lessons. We test hundreds of pressure canner gauges and answer many questions.