University of Illinois Extension
LightNews LightNews
banner
extension.illinois.edu
University of Illinois Extension
@extension.illinois.edu
250 followers 70 following 140 posts
Illinois Extension is the flagship outreach effort of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Posts Replies Media Videos
extension.illinois.edu
Illinois Extension offers "Lessons for Living," a free webinar series that provides practical, easy-to-understand tips to help adults of all ages live healthier lives.
✅For more: https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/discover-practical-tools-healthy-inspiring-life
Three older women smiling and embracing, with the text "Lessons for Living" and "Illinois Extension" on a blue background.
December 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Tune in as we break down five powerful reasons why managing blood sugar is essential for your health and longevity.
🎧 Listen now: https://extension.illinois.edu/podcasts/wellness-wake-call/5-reasons-get-blood-sugar-under-control
Close-up of a hand using a blood glucose monitor. Text: "5 reasons to get blood sugar under control." Illinois Extension logo.
December 3, 2025 at 12:01 AM
extension.illinois.edu
In the Farmer Led Advances in Soil Health program, farmers lead soil health and water quality improvement efforts

More in the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy podcast: https://extension.illinois.edu/podcasts/illinois-nutrient-loss-reduction-podcast/episode-77-batch-and-grow-farmer-led-advances
Podcast cover for "The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Podcast" Episode 77, titled "Batch and Grow with Farmer-Led Advances in Soil Health (FLASH)," featuring a green field background and logos for Illinois Extension and Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.
December 2, 2025 at 12:24 AM
extension.illinois.edu
A special dinner with family and friends is unforgettable, but safety makes it even better! 
We share 3 simple ways to safely defrost your frozen turkey and ensure your holiday feast is both delicious and worry-free.

✅https://extension.illinois.edu/turkey/thawing
Roasted turkey on a platter with citrus and herbs, featuring text: "3 Ways to Safely Thaw a Turkey." Illinois Extension logo present.
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 PM
extension.illinois.edu
The red fox sparrow is a winter visitor to Illinois that can be found in the woods or maybe at a bird feeder. 

Learn more on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms or online at https://go.illinois.edu/VoiceoftheWild
A reddish Fox Sparrow songbird perched on a wooden surface. University of Illinois Extension logo and Voice of the Wild logo.
November 22, 2025 at 2:33 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Cozying up to the fireplace this weekend? 

Explore how to keep your home warm, seasoning and storing firewood, chimney safety, and more at https://extension.illinois.edu/firewood.
A cozy fireplace with bright orange flames dancing over stacked logs, with additional wood logs neatly piled to the right.
November 21, 2025 at 3:05 PM
extension.illinois.edu
On an abandoned parking lot in Chicago, Urban Canopy is transforming concrete into community. With support from the IL-EATS program, the fresh food they grow stays right where it’s needed most.

🎥Watch the story: https://extension.illinois.edu/videos/how-urban-farm-turns-concrete-community-il-eats
A yellow food truck with "The Urban Canopy" logo parked under trees. Text reads, "From Pavement to Plates: IL-EATS Story," with Illinois Extension logo.
November 16, 2025 at 3:03 PM
extension.illinois.edu
The downy woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in Illinois. Be careful when identifying, it looks very similar to the hairy woodpecker.

Learn more with the Voice of the Wild podcast on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms or online at https://go.illinois.edu/VoiceoftheWild
A black and white Downy Woodpecker perched on a branch with red berries. Text reads: "Downy Woodpecker," "Voice of the Wild," "Illinois Extension."
November 14, 2025 at 3:08 PM
extension.illinois.edu
All fall, our Everyday Environment team has been exploring wildlife. Check in with the last blog of the season and get a sneak peek of their spring 2026 topic (pssst, it's invasives!)

https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/everyday-environment/2025-11-06-unexpected-turn-human-dimensions-wildlife
An older man sits on a chair fishing by a lake with the text "Where people and wildlife meet" and logos for Everyday Environment and Illinois Extension.
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 AM
extension.illinois.edu
How do you crowdsource nature? With community science! 

We explore the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network and other community science projects on the latest Everyday Environment blog and podcasts https://go.illinois.edu/EverydayEnvironment
A brown butterfly perched on white flowers with "Wildlife and Community Science" text. Illinois Extension logo and "Everyday Environment" emblem included.
November 5, 2025 at 12:03 AM
extension.illinois.edu
Whether you call it a hedge apple or Osage orange, this tree has a story - Indigenous people made bows from it, pioneers used the thorny tree as a living fence, and mammoths dined on it.

https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2022-11-11-massive-fruit-myths-and-mastodons-osage-orange
Close-up of green, bumpy Osage orange fruits hanging from a branch with yellow autumn leaves in the background.
November 2, 2025 at 2:27 AM
extension.illinois.edu
If you learn to listen for wildlife, suddenly you start hearing them everywhere – the bark of a squirrel, the trill of a frog, the hoot of an owl.

Explore Illinois' natural soundscape in the Everyday Environment blog and podcast at https://go.illinois.edu/EverydayEnvironment
A toad sits on the ground. Text overlay reads, "Everyday Environment, Illinois Extension. Why you should listen to Illinois wildlife."
October 28, 2025 at 11:18 PM
extension.illinois.edu
We welcome Dr. Kevin Carey as the new assistant dean and director of Illinois 4-H! Kevin brings deep experience and service-minded leadership to this role that will help to develop future leaders who are #BeyondReady.

Congrats, Kevin! 🍀

🔗go.illinois.edu/KevinCarey4H

#Illinois4H #YouthDevelopment
Kevin Carey is a smiling man with glasses and short brown hair parted to the side, wearing a patterned blazer and black turtleneck against a gray background.
October 27, 2025 at 11:02 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Illinois has 9 new invasives that cannot be bought, sold, or planted, including Callery pear, tree-of-heaven, garlic mustard, leafy spurge, sericea lespedeza, and stiltgrass

Details https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/nine-new-invasive-species-regulated-illinois-expansion-exotic-weeds-act
October 27, 2025 at 2:11 PM
extension.illinois.edu
The plains pocket gopher is one “angry potato!”

Learn how the only gopher found in Illinois got its nickname in the latest Everyday Environment blog and podcast with @prairieresearch.bsky.social researcher Nathan Alexander at https://go.illinois.edu/EverydayEnvironment
A small brown rodent, a pocket gopher, peeks out from its burrow. The image includes the University of Illinois Extension logo and the title "Pocket Gophers".
October 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM
extension.illinois.edu
The red-breasted nuthatch is an honorary "winter finch." Usually found in the Canadian north, these nuthatches will occasionally head south into Illinois in search of food. 

Learn more about with Voice of the Wild, found on podcast platforms or at https://go.illinois.edu/VoiceoftheWild
Red-breasted nuthatch perched on a tree trunk. Text reads: "Red-Breasted Nuthatch," "Voice of the Wild," "Illinois Extension."
October 25, 2025 at 1:06 PM
extension.illinois.edu
If you're cold, they're cold! A lot of Illinois is under a frost advisory tonight, so it’s time to move outdoor houseplants back inside and remove hoses from spigots.

Find the full list of affected counties from @nws.noaa.gov at https://www.weather.gov
October 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Leaders gathered Oct. 20 to celebrate the beam signing of the future Doris Kelley Christopher Illinois Extension Center. The 39,500 sq. ft. facility will be Illinois Extension's first central home, driving innovation and community impact.

🔹 Read More: go.illinois.edu/ExtensionCenterProgress
Four people wearing hard hats stand behind a signed beam at a commemorative ceremony for the future Christopher Extension Center on University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus.
October 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Armadillos are in Illinois. So what does that mean? 

Zoologist Agustin Jimenez from Southern Illinois University joined the Everyday Environment team to talk about the armadillo's movement, behaviors, and more. Blog and podcast at https://go.illinois.edu/EverydayEnvironment
A nine-banded armadillo walking on grass with the text "Armadillos in Illinois" and "Illinois Extension" displayed on the image.
October 16, 2025 at 5:12 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Are you seeing plants that are still green with oval green leaves and red berries in a wooded area? You might have invasive bush honeysuckle.

Explore how to ID and remove amur bush honeysuckle this fall and winter at https://extension.illinois.edu/invasives/invasive-amur-bush-honeysuckle
Branch of amur bush honeysuckle with lush green leaves and clusters of small, bright red berries scattered throughout.
October 14, 2025 at 2:20 PM
extension.illinois.edu
Where have all the whip-poor-wills gone? Often heard and rarely seen, the eastern whip-poor-will is an iconic nocturnal woodland bird. But its numbers are declining.

Learn what’s happening to whip-poor-wills in an Oct. 16 webinar at 1 pm. Sign up at https://go.illinois.edu/WhipPoorWills
October 13, 2025 at 11:01 PM
extension.illinois.edu
By tagging, radio-collaring and collecting samples from 1,600+ coyotes, scientists with The Urban Coyote Research Project in Chicago know more about their activities and how to coexist with them

Explore more in the Everyday Environment blog and podcast at https://go.illinois.edu/EverydayEnvironment
A coyote walks along a suburban street with the text "Living with coyotes" and logos for Illinois Extension and Everyday Environment.
October 6, 2025 at 11:14 PM
extension.illinois.edu
When it comes to managing invasive species, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. A new Extension course gave people hands-on experience at local field days.

More at https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/online-and-ground-new-program-empowers-illinois-communities-tackle-invasive-species
A man in a white shirt and baseball cap uses a drip torch to ignite a controlled burn in a forested area, while another man observes. A group of people, wearing hats and casual outdoor clothing, gather around a person demonstrating a plant measurement tool in a lush, wooded area. A group of people seated on grass, attentively watching a man demonstrating equipment in a park, surrounded by trees and parked cars.
October 6, 2025 at 1:49 PM
extension.illinois.edu
See a holey tree? You might have a yellow-bellied sapsucker to thank! These woodpeckers tap into trees to drink the sap and any insects that come along as they migrate through Illinois or overwinter here. 

Learn more with the Voice of the Wild podcast at https://go.illinois.edu/VoiceoftheWild
A red and white bird with a yellow belly. The yellow-bellied sapsucker on a tree trunk; text reads "Voice of the Wild," with Illinois Extension logo.
October 5, 2025 at 9:40 PM
extension.illinois.edu
From bass to blue gill, Illinois state-run hatcheries raise fish so they can be released to support natural populations that may be struggling.

Explore more in the Everyday Environment blog and podcast at https://go.illinois.edu/everydayenvironment with Kayleigh Smith from @illinoisdnr.bsky.social
Young fish swimming in water, with text reading "Hatcheries support more than fishing" and "Everyday Environment" logo. Illinois Extension branding.
September 29, 2025 at 11:27 PM