Promoting dialogical interaction between the university and the community through educational practices, valuing traditional knowledge, and strengthening local social organization are intrinsic objectives of university extension. This article presents the partial results of a university extension project developed in the district of Juá, in Irauçuba, Ceará, Brazil. The main objective is to contribute to local socio-environmental resilience through the articulation of academic and community knowledge, aiming at ecological restoration, the promotion of food security, and the stimulation of the local economy, based on educational practices. The methodology adopted was qualitative and participatory, involving community mobilization, an environmental diagnosis, and technical training courses on the production of native species seedlings and the establishment of a community nursery, as well as a course on plant extraction and the production of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The results highlight the importance of dialogue between different forms of knowledge, the appreciation of local social organization, and the university’s institutional role as an agent of territorial transformation. It is concluded that university extension, when rooted in local territories, can promote structural actions with the potential to generate positive long-term impacts.