Local Programs
Soil Samples: There are soil boxes and forms available at the office for pick up. The soil-filled boxes and forms must then be mailed to the Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab in Blacksburg, VA. Testing of samples for commercial and/or field crops is free of charge but samples for gardens, lawns, etc. are $10 per sample for a routine analysis. A routine test includes soil pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe, B and estimated CEC.
There are soil probes at the office that can be taken out on loan to assist with collecting the soil samples.
Annual Well Water Testing: Drinking water clinics are organized once a year by your local Extension Agent and Virginia Tech faculty in the Biological Systems Engineering Department. Participation is voluntary and all information is kept strictly confidential. Anyone with a private water supply system (including wells, springs, and cisterns) may participate. Contact your extension office for this year's scheduled date.
Plant Disease Clinic: The Virginia Plant Disease Clinic provides plant disease diagnostic services to Virginia Cooperative Extension agents. Physical or digital samples with problems caused by pathogens, including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematode, in addition to plant samples with environmental or other abiotic problems may be submitted to the Plant Disease Clinic. Diagnosis is provided for any type of plant. To insure the long-term sustainability of our diagnostic laboratories, effective October 1, 2021, each sample sent to the Virginia Tech Plant Disease Clinic for diagnosis will incur a $35 charge. Many plant diseases can be identified and recommendations given by your local Extension office without having to send to the plant disease clinic so it will be on a case-by-case basis.
2026 Food Frenzy Camp
This overnight 4-H camp will take place February 27 - March 1, 2026 at the Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center in Appomattox, VA. It is open to youth ages 9-18. Youth will learn about food safety and preparation, attend different fun-filled workshops, and team up and create delicious one-bites with the help of a professional chef! The cost is $135 per camper and $50 for teen and adult volunteers.
Registration link is https://www.holidaylake4h.com/foodfrenzyreg
Transportation is not provided so parents are responsible for dropping off and picking up their children directly from the Holiday Lake 4-H Center. Parents will be sent more specific information such as packing list and camp schedule (drop off and pick up times) via email as it gets closer to camp.
Click here to view the camp brochure.
2026 Catch 'Em All (Pokemon-themed) Camp
This is an overnight, STEM-based camping opportunity for campers ages 9-13 based on the popular anime, video game, and trading card game Pokemon. It will take place March 27-29, 2026 at the Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center in Appomattox, VA. Cost is $135 per camper.
Registration link: https://www.holidaylake4h.com/campcatchemall
Activites include but are not limited to:
- Pikachu's circuits
- Squirtles herpetology friends
- Learn how to play the trading card game
- Card exchange
- Geodude's origins
- Pokemon habitat assessment
Transportation is not provided so parents are responsible for dropping off and picking up their children directly from the Holiday Lake 4-H Center. Parents will be sent more specific information such as packing list and camp schedule (drop off and pick up times) via email as it gets closer to camp.
4-H Buckingham & Cumberland Livestock Club
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to raise a sheep or a cow? Have you ever thought about what is involved in showing a pig before a judge? You don't have to live on a farm or have your own livestock to participate in the 4-H livestock club. You just have to have an interest, a willingness to commit to caring for an animal, and enthusiasm for preparing for and partipating in the livestock show.
Club members raise and show market and breeding animals at the Piedmont Area Livestock Show held each May in Blackstone, Virginia. They work with their animals for three to five months before competition in the show against youth from ten counties in the area.
Please call the office at 804-492-4390 and/or click link below for more information!
4-H Buckingham & Cumberland Livestock Club brochure
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 Expert system.