Extension & Outreach

It’s not every day that a helicopter lands on Cloverleaf Circle at Rock Eagle 4-H Center, but for nearly 200 4-H youth and adults, it was a spectacular sight to see during Mission Make-It in late August. Youth attending the annual non-competitive engineering challenge offered by Georgia 4-H explored a Vietnam-era helicopter, getting up close and personal tours provided by members of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation in Hampton, Georgia.

It may be September in north Georgia, but it looks more like Halloween. Millions of palm-sized Joro spiders have suspended themselves in three-dimensional golden webs on porches, power lines and mailboxes in roughly 25 counties in the state — and counting. Although their numbers are a nuisance, the spiders are not considered a particularly harmful invasive species.

Recruiting a diverse student body is a focus throughout the University of Georgia, but keeping students engaged and successful once they are on campus is a whole different mission, said Lakecia Pettway, director of the Office of Diversity Affairs (ODA) at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.