Our Cooperative Extension programs make life better for Cape Cod.

You may not have heard of us, but you are probably familiar with our work. Check out our program highlights below!

 

Image is of covered boats with a sunset sky. Text reads:
Cape Cod Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling, April 1st to June 30th, 2024.
Bring clean, rolled wrap to transfer stations in Bourne, Chatham, Eastham, Falmouth and Wellfleet.
More info can be found at the link http://seagrant.whoi.edu/shrinkwrap.Image of a blackboard with the accompanying text: FREE Effective Grant Writing Workshop for Farmers, Food Producers, Food Pantries, and Social Service Organizations. Learn to write a winning application, find funding, develop proposals, and avoid mistakes. March 27th, 2024 from 10am to 12pm. Located at the Harborview Room at the Barnstable County Complex in West Barnstable. To register, email tara.racine@capecod.gov or call #508-375-6695.Image of a young family with accompanying text: Find your no-cost neighborhood food pantry or food distribution at the link www.capecod.gov/foodaccess. 50+ partners across Cape Cod are listed in the Food Resource Guide.Image of children working in a garden with an adult and muddy hands. Images are accompanied with text: Register for Lower Cape Cod Children’s Garden. Registration is free.2024 Cape Cod Household Hazardous Waste Collections Schedule and Brochures.2024 Cape Cod Food Waste Forum. Tuesday, March 5th 9:00am – 12:30pm in Yarmouth. Join Buy Fresh Buy Local Cape Cod for discussions on transforming food waste on the farm and in the community.Announcing the Barnstable County 4-H 2024 Advisory Council Scholarship!❤️📚 The application is open now and closes on March 18, 2024. Click the following link for info and application www.capecod.gov/4hscholarships. Best of luck to all of our Barnstable County 4-H seniors!Marine and road flare disposal on Cape Cod.Massachusetts River Herring Network: It Counts on Cape Cod.Don't dress like Jason when winter walking. One bite from a tick can change your life!Cape Codders turned in 303 tons of toxic materials during the 2023 HHW Collections. The safe disposal of these materials helps keep our homes safe, our drinking water clean, and protects our environment.We want you! Barnstable County 4-H is in need of Babysitting class instructors.Extension and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant are accepting applications for the position of a full-time Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist to provide professional, technical management, research, outreach and educational work related to coastal and shoreline processes, coastal geology/ecology, and issues related to coastal hazards. Master’s degree in coastal geology or related physical science field. $80,030.86 - $90,075.75 per year commensurate with experience plus a generous benefits package. Apply here www.capecod.gov/jobs.Extension's holiday plant guide that covers: Amaryllis Paperwhite Narcissus Poinsettia Thanksgiving/ Christmas Cactus and more!Master Gardeners of Cape Cod 2024 scholarship opportunities for current high school seniors or college students majoring in agriculture, horticulture or a related natural resource field. Find video and recipe for local Cape Cod cranberry cookies.LEAF it alone! Just a friendly reminder that our important pollinators (like bees) hibernate in the leaves for winter. If we rake leaves now, we risk killing many insects in the process.Cape Cod Holiday Lights Recycling Collection: All 15 towns are accepting broken holiday strand lights to be recycled! Holiday lights that can be accepted: Rope lights Garland lights C7 and C9 bulbs Mini lights LED holiday lightsImage of Cape Cod section of the new 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.Cooking turkey tips- cook safely this Thanksgiving.Image answers questions about ticks in fall: Can they survive in chilly temps? Yes! Where do they live? Leaf litter and low vegetation. Protect yourself by wearing long clothing, wearing permethrin on outdoor clothing including shoes, and stay on cleared paths during a hike.Image of a tulip and cover of the 2024 UMass Garden Calendars, now available for purchase. To order your garden calendar online and for more details, please visit our website at https://www.capecod.gov/gardencalendar.National Drug Take Back Day Oct. 28, 2023.Local beet recipe with Cape Cod Organic Farm.Cape Cod Food Access Guide Fall 2023.Labeling quahogs for disease program.Why you see stink bugs in your home this time of year.Image of coastal properties in Wellfleet that could benefit from coastal design guidelines.Spiders are unwanted housemates on Cape Cod.Fall for zucchini and summer squash. They are versatile veggies that can be eaten as a snack or meal. Kids can help cook these too!Protect the life you built on Cape Cod. How to prepare for floods.Hummingbird hawk moth in a Cape Cod garden.Become a Master Gardener. Fill out application today.Hurricane Idalia track from Florida to inland areas.Image is picture of Shannon Hulst, Floodplain & Community Rating System Specialist with Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. Heading is Preparing Cape Cod for Floods with mitigation efforts and lowering flood insurance rates.Extension's home canning resources include free pressure canner gauge testing.Although they get a bad rap for their aggressiveness, and they don’t do much pollinating, wasps and hornets are beneficial to have around the garden. Here's why you should learn to appreciate them - and how to get rid of them if they become a problem without harming them.Rain storms can cause flooding.Extension's Hazardous Materials Environmental Specialist, Kalliope Chute, joined Barnstable Government Access for the most recent episode of County Chatter to talk about HHW Collections.Question about fruit flies and where they come from.Flyer on ways you can control and prevent mosquitoes on your property or home.Cape Cod Cooperative Extension's Seed to Plate Program: How to Grow, Cook, and Access Local Food.Extension's Waste Reduction Coordinator, Kari Parce, joined Barnstable Government Access TV for the most recent episode of County Chatter to talk about latex paint and boat shrink wrap recycling.August is National Water Quality Month. Buy Fresh Buy Local Cape Cod- Your Source for Local Food and Farms this summer.The #1 deadliest animal in the world is...NOT A GREAT WHITE SHARK! It's the tiny, pesky, completely unglamorous MOSQUITO. Learn how to protect yourself and your family here.Cape Cod's Warming Climate Affects Spread of Tick-Borne Diseases.Protect yourself from tick bites on hikes.Map of summer eats locations on Cape Cod for 2023. Kids and Teens Can Enjoy Free, Nutritious Meals All Summer Long.Cape Cod Master Gardener Hydrangea Festival Tour for 2023.Gorilla making a surprised face with text, "your face when you hear a new tick is in town".Are you a resident of Cape Cod but cannot attend your own town's HHW event? Don't miss out! Fill out the non-resident form and get a quote and appointment to attend any of the 24 HHW events on Cape Cod annually. Find the form at our website www.loveyourlocalwater.org2023 Master Gardener Evenings in the Garden schedule.Cooking up local Cape Cod choy sum.Don't be scared by roly poly bugs.Find the Cape Cod Master Gardeners at the Bass Rivers Farmers Market, Chatham Farmers Market and Falmouth Public Library this summer. Ask them questions or bring plants/ photos to discuss.Why is my beech tree dying? Find out about a spreading tree disease.County Entomologist Larry Dapsis chats with Barnstable Channel 18's Paula Hersey about ticks on Cape Cod.2023 HHW Collections Schedule and info.Succession planting for a continual harvest, featuring characters from the Succession TV show.Cape Cod 2023 Farmers' Market calendar.Hydrangea winter damage.Drinking morning coffee amongst plants that were brought inside to protect from a late season frost warning.Master Gardener Plant Sale on Saturday May 20th at Cape Cod Fairgrounds from 9am to 1pm.Happy Drinking Water Week from the people and projects that help keep our drinking water clean.Household Hazardous Waste Collections for Cape Cod.Star Wars characters Tarkin and Grogu showing the MA Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Coastal Hazards. Click here to download.Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant Extension Marine Specialist, Abigail Archer, joined Brewster Conservation Trust and 13 herring fans on a walk through the Stony Brook herring run.Contact Tara Racine for more info on becoming a vendor at the Hyannis Farmers' Market by calling 508-375-6695.4-H members and program coordinator, Sandi Shepherd-Gay greeting folks at their event table.Protect Cape Cod's First Responders by Visiting Your Local HHW Collection.Free blood pressure, glucose, and nutrition education at Outer Cape locations for April.County Entomologist, Larry Dapsis, pointing to sign about Babesiosis and how it's 1. an emerging disease 2. can be serious 3. preventing tick bites prevents the infection. Visit Larry at capecod.gov/ticksCape Cod Boat Shrink Wrap Program for 2023.Town of Barnstable HHW Collection schedule for 2023. Soil testing is easy! Drop off at our office located 1358 Route 28 in South Yarmouth. Cape Cod Master Gardener Scholarship for 2023.Barnstable County Advisory Council Scholarship.Abigail Archer, our Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant Extension Fisheries & Aquaculture Specialist, received the 2023 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Northeast Division President’s Award for leading a monthly diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) discussion in 2021-2022 and for 16 years of service to the AFS in various capacities.Save your water with these conservation tips.Imagination and teamwork take flight at the Barnstable County 4H “Design a Planet” workshop, part of the 4H Aerospace youth workshop series.National Groundwater Awareness WeekWoods Hole Sea Grant Extension Coastal Processes team visit Provincetown.During National Nutrition Month head to our website for recipes and cooking videos.Feeding Cape Cod with first local food distribution.Talking Ticks on CAI with Mindy ToddFundamentals of Shellfish Farming ClassKeep Your home and environment safe from toxic winter auto fluids that cannot be thrown in the trash. Find your disposal options at www.loveyourlocalwater.org.Cape Cod Master Gardeners Presents the Home Garden Spring Symposium, featuring award winning gardener and author, Brie Arthur. Event is March 25th in Centerville at the Lady of Victory Church. Cost is $40 per person, head to this link to register www.mastergardenerscc.orgWe need volunteers to help with the 2023 HHW collections.Hannibal Lecter and the female firefly enjoying having friends for dinner this Valentine's Day.Follow these food safety tips to keep food poisoning from tackling your Super Bowl party.Show your Valentine some love with the gift of permethrin to prevent tick-borne disease.Flowers for 4H! Buy bulbs online and a portion goes to support Barnstable County 4h programs and events. Order online today.Nothing says I love you like the 2023 UMass Garden Calendar. Buy yours for Valentine's Day.Cooperative Extension in the news. Extension's entomologist, Larry Dapsis, explains how Cape Cod's mild winters make for an active tick season in this article from Northeastern Global News.Brace yourselves, groundhogs are coming for your garden.4H Youth in Action with Aerospace. Click here for more.Download the 2023 HHW Collection Schedule here.Tick bite prevention in the winter.Bringing your Food Product to Market-An Introduction. Click Here to Register.Learn to grow a garden with the Master Gardner Backyard Horticulture Workshop series. Click here.Holiday Food Safety TipsHazardous Holiday Weather Safety tips2023 UMass Garden calendars on sale now. Happiness and Cheer!Barnstable County HHW Collected over 600 thousands pounds of household hazardous waste in 2022.4H and ameriCorp Cape Cod in the UMass NewsletterDon't Rake The Leaves

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Our goal is to ensure that the next generation can enjoy Cape Cod’s natural splendor as much as we do. Check out our calendar and sign up for our newsletters to find out about future events, upcoming workshops, and available resources on our efforts