Our Impact
Making A Difference in Our County
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is working hard for its constituents. The following are examples of Extension’s impact in the county over the past year.
4-H Youth Development
Richmond County 4-H served 1578 students in grades 3-12 in 2024. Programming included in-school clubs in grades 3-7, after-school clubs in grades 6-12, and Saturday clubs such as Horse Club, Gardening, Small Animal, and Fishing Club for grades 4-12. In addition, participants attended Skating Parties, Community Service events, Jr./Sr. Council, District Project Achievement, Cotton Boll Consumer Judging Competition, 4-H Day at the Capitol, State Congress, Fall Forum, Earth Day, and Summer Camp. These diverse activities provided Richmond County youth with valuable experiences to develop their skills, connect with peers, and engage with their community. One big highlight for 2024 is that we had a Richmond County 4-H’r elected as a Senior District Officer for the first time in many years.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
In 2024, Richmond County Agricultural and Natural Resources hosted its fourth Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Training program in three years. With 32 trainees completing the ten week and 50 hours of in class training, the Richmond County Master Gardener Volunteer has increased its active volunteer roster to 173. These volunteers will all produce at least 25 hours of volunteer work in the community over the course of a year. Many of these volunteers will produce way more volunteer hours than the 25 needed to maintain active status with our program. In 2024, Richmond County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers totaled 4,647 volunteer hours (calculated at are rate of $29.95 per hour) equaling a value of $134,763.
Family and Consumer Sciences
Richmond County FACS program area in 2024 has being increasingly prioritizing Augusta community's food safety and health wellness awareness. Food safety awareness has involved community members incorporating more principles of clean, separate, cook and chill in their homes, foodservices, etc. Health wellness awareness has further engaged community members to learn more about preventing chronic illnesses, and recognize the different vulnerabilities associated with them. Richmond County FACS, in the next year, targets to expand outreach and cater for more underrepresented groups and empower overall community wellbeing.
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
UGA EFNEP offers practical nutrition and physical activity information, food safety education, food resource management strategies and recipe demonstrations within community settings and high schools throughout Richmond County. EFNEP provides interactive series-based sessions allowing participants to earn a certification of completion. Offering programming to youth and adults provides multiple opportunities to deliver researched based nutrition education throughout Richmond County.