UGA Extension Office

Home

Your Cooperative Extension office, a department of Columbus Consolidated Government, provides the Columbus community with many services.

With over 1150 children enrolled in 4-H clubs, we're in 18 schools in Columbus.  4-H members highlight each year with a week of summer camp at Rock Eagle.

Our local Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program logged in 2,825 hours of service in Muscogee County for a value of $65,192.20. Those hours were spent monitoring water quality in local streams, teaching children and adults about the environment, home garden visits, and other community service projects. As a part of our outreach, we recently partnered with Columbus State University and Georgia Organics to build the Columbus Community Gardens map.

Our Home Visiting programs provide parenting support and education to over 700 families in the Columbus area.  We also provide training to professional childcare providers, helping those professionals provide quality care and education to many children in Columbus.

Our agents provide classes to individuals and other agencies throughout Columbus. Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program teaches families how to save money on food and how to make good, inexpensive and nutritious family meals. Family and Consumer Sciences provides classes on living with chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.

 


Upcoming Events

  • Apr 26 - Apr 28 NE/NW District Junior Rally (6th - 8th Grades) - Wahsega 4-H Event
    • Dahlonega, GA - (156.0 Miles)
  • Aug 29 - Oct 25 Master Naturalist Program UGA Extension in Cobb, Douglas, & Paulding Counties are hosting a Master Naturalist Training program that provides comprehensive training for beginning farmers. The Georgia Master Naturalist Program is a hands-on environmental education course that explores habitats and ecosystems in Georgia and human impacts on these environments. This 9 day program consists of weekly field trips with in-depth lectures from regional experts on a wide variety of environmental and ecological topics. Transportation is provided to and from all locations. Fee covers weekly field trips, tours, speakers, class materials, name badge, Georgia Master Naturalist polo, snacks, drinks, and certificate of completion. The program dates are every Friday in September and every Thursday in October including an overnight on Oct. 24-25. The program days are from 9:00am to 4:00pm with an hour lunch, not including drive time.
    • Marietta, GA
  • Sep 9 Equine Emergency Response Awareness Clinic Individuals can attend an awareness level course to receive a TLAER Inc Awareness Level Certification. This is the most important level to attend for horse and barn owners, veterinarians, fire fighters, Animal Control/Services and law enforcement officers. The course will cover a wide ranging set of topics – such as best practices for vehicle accidents involving horses, loose livestock in the road, livestock euthanasia in the field, and we will set things afire to explore common barn fire hazards. This promises to be a interesting course for all attendees. There are more and more horses moving to our area and we want all involved to have some training and resources to best help the residents of their county – two and four legged. CE credit: Vets, fire fighters, law enforcement – email us to see if you can get CE credit – if we haven’t already arranged it in your county – we will work to make it happen!
    • Conyers, GA - (100.0 Miles)
  • Peanut Oil
    Peanut Oil A new study by experts in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeking to increase the value of Georgia’s peanut crops for new markets while reducing losses caused by aflatoxin, a consistent threat to the No. 1 peanut-producing state in the United States. By Maria M. Lameiras | Published: 9/5/2024
  • Congressional Agricultural Fellowship
    Congressional Agricultural Fellowship The Congressional Agricultural Fellowship is a transformative program for students in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, offering unique opportunities to engage with the legislative process and gain practical experience in agricultural policy. By Liz Newlin | Published: 9/4/2024
  • Master Gardener Anniversary
    Master Gardener Anniversary The Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteer program is celebrating its 45th anniversary with signature events throughout 2024, culminating in the Georgia Master Gardener Association’s annual conference Oct. 4-5. By Sheri Dorn | Published: 9/3/2024
Show More News
24 7 tips for eating healthy, easy exercise and saving money at foodtalk.org

Free online learning

24/7 Tips to live a more active lifestyle, shop smarter, make healthier food choices, and cook delicious meals on a budget! Receive free kitchen and fitness items.

Get Healthier Fast


Diagnostic Services

We offer several diagnostic services through UGA labs, including soil tests, water quality tests, and disease and insect identification. For more information about these services, please contact our office.


Information on soil and water testing

  • Testing for Water Quality (C 858-2) The quality and safety of drinking water is of great concern to many Americans today because of an increased interest in health and environmental quality. This new focus on water quality has led many Americans to consider testing their water. This publication is intended to help you understand water testing and to identify the tests needed.
  • Soil Testing for Home Lawns, Gardens and Wildlife Food Plots (C 896) Developing and maintaining productive soils begin with soil testing. Soils tests provide information on the soil's actual nutrient status. Test results are used to determine the amount and kind of nutrients that should be added for the best growth of lawn, garden, and other types of plants.

University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, Veteran, Disability Institution. If you need a reasonable accommodation or language access services, contact the Muscogee County Extension office at 706-225-4200 and muscogee.extension@uga.edu, at least three weeks prior to the program date.