Extension Disaster Education Network Helps Prepare Nation for Hurricane Season

The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) is a collaborative multi-state effort by Cooperative Extension Services across the country to improve timely information delivery to people affected by disasters, including hurricanes. EDEN's mission is to reduce the impact of disasters through research-based education. Supported by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the conception, development and growth of EDEN were a direct result of lessons learned by the Land-grant University System responding to the catastrophic Mississippi and Missouri river floods of 1993. Funded through USDA NIFA’s Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative, EDEN  ensures that Extension can respond to local, state, regional, and national education needs during a crisis.

EDEN provides critical resources for Extension professionals as they build working relationships with their local and state emergency management networks, provide youth and adult educational programs on disaster preparation and mitigation, take on appropriate roles during disasters, and collaborate in recovery efforts.

The strength of EDEN rests on a foundation of multidisciplinary Extension professionals across states and territories. It allows Extension professionals to pool their technical and educational resources to more effectively respond in times of a disaster.

EDEN delegates say this is a key benefit of the program—the sharing of resources across the LGU System. This is what EDEN was really created to do—facilitate Extension in individual states and territories in sharing resources and materials and not duplicating efforts.

EDEN’s website gives Extension professionals access to resources on disaster preparedness, recovery and mitigation to enhance their program efforts. Additionally, EDEN maintains a shared database of disaster-related resources that are available from member institutions. While designed for use by Extension agents and educators, anyone can access these resources. 

As the nation faces another active hurricane season, local Extension teams supported by EDEN are helping prepare farmers, families, and communities for potential storms and are ready to respond following these disasters.