Local Programs
Family and Consumer Sciences programs focus on finance, nutrition and family and human development needs of Arlington and Alexandria residents through classes offered at various public venues. Consistent with VCE's mission, our educational programs utilize research-based curricula from public university or federal government sources.
- Aisha Salazar - Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences
Volunteer Opportunities
The City of Alexandria 4-H Youth Development Program offers many exciting activities for youth ages 5-19. Participants can be involved in 4-H in a variety of ways. Youth can participate in community, special interest, or project clubs; join us at 4-H camp; participate in workshops or contest; or participate in 4-H through in-school and after-school programming. The opportunities are unlimited with Alexandria 4-H, for information or to enroll please contact the Alexandria Cooperative Extension Office at 703-746-5546.
Interested in enrolling? Download enrollment forms below
4-H Camp Information
4-H Camp is an overnight camping program serving campers ages 9-13, supervised by teen counselors ages 14-18. Youth from Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax camp together each year at the Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center in Front Royal, Virginia. This 5-day, 4-night program incorporates all of the favorite camp classics at an unbeatable price.
Every morning at camp, campers will rotate through camp classes featuring activities like canoeing, high ropes, leadership, outdoor living skills, yoga and more. There is free swim and recreation time each day, as well as evening programs and a roaring campfire.
Each camper will be a part of a "pack" which serves as the camper’s “family” during the week of camp. "Packs" will rotate through camp activities together and are involved in different contests on various days. Bear Claws are awarded for spirit, participation, and demonstrations of good character.
Youth involved in 4-H Enrichment Programs (ages 9-19) are participants in learning experiences not involving organized club activities. Enrichment programs may be coordinated with school personnel serving as volunteer teachers of 4-H curricula. The purposes of enrichment programs are to teach youth subject matter in a short time frame, expose new youth to 4-H, and to involve those youth in 4-H for further programming opportunities. Many 4-H projects and activities address objectives covered in Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL's).
This curriculum is designed to satisfy Virginia Science Standard of Learning 4.3 as well as supporting several of the goals in science SOL 4.1. Electric Kits with most of the supplies required to conduct these lessons are available from the 4-H office. Contact Reggie Morris at rbmorris@vt.edu to borrow a kit.
The "Beginning of Life" 4-H Embryology project provides the opportunity for children between the ages of 5-18 to explore the life and growth processes utilizing the chick embryo. The Embryology Program centers on the incubation of eggs. One dozen fertile eggs and an incubator will be provided as available to each school or youth group on a first-come/first-serve basis for use in conducting the project. The anticipation of the hatch greatly adds to student interest and excitement about learning!
These activities are designed to introduce youth to the process of scientific inquiry and help to develop the following inquiry skills: observing, classifying, and sequencing; communicating; measuring; predicting; hypothesizing; inferring; defining, controlling and manipulating variables in experimentation; and interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating data.
The 4-H Cloverbud Program is designed for boys and girls 5-8 years of age. These programs are designed to give young children and introduction to 4-H through people activities designed for their interest and learning levels.
4-H Afterschool is a special effort to increase 4-H's capacity to develop and implement after-school programs and work with other youth serving organizations to increase the quality and quantity of after-school programs in America's communities. The aim is to increase young people's opportunities to have fun while developing lifelong skills through experiential learning in safe, healthy, and enriching environments.
Length: 00:58
ANR programs have something for everyone interested in urban agriculture, horticulture and sustainable landscape management. We host an in-house help desk to answer your plant, insect or gardening questions and offer programs year round on various topics.
- Kirsten Conrad - Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Related Extension Publications
Extension Master Gardener Help Desk
Let our Master Gardeners help with your plant, insect and other gardening / horticulture questions. Follow the help desk link to find out more about our help desk and what to bring to help us answer your questions.
Public Education Programs
We offer a variety of programs on various topics. Please visit our public education page to see our regularly offered courses. In addition, if we have volunteers available, we can tailor a program for your group or event. If you don’t see what you are interested listed here, please contact us.
Between the Rows Garden Guide
Need a list of “to-dos” for your vegetable and herb gardens?
Information in this publication covers general garden design, planning, maintenance, and pest and disease detection.
Volunteer Opportunities
Affiliated Organizations
Engaging with Communities
Virginia Cooperative Extension specialists in community viability work with Extension agents, campus-based faculty, organizational partners, communities, and individuals to further opportunity and build capacity in five program areas:
- Leadership & Planning
- Community Enterprise and Resiliency
- Community Food System and Enterprises
- Community Planning
- Emerging Community Issues
Examples of our work include training county elected officials, educating entrepreneurs, facilitating collaborative projects, supporting the growth of community food systems and local economies, enhancing agent skills and community capacity in facilitation and leadership, conducting problem-driven research, and creating publications and tools that address critical community needs.
Do you have a question about Community Viability?
Perhaps one of the Community Viability specialists below can help you. Contact a Community Viability specialist or direct a question to them using our Ask an Expertsystem.