Each year, over 3,000 ecologists gather in a city to participate in ESA annual meetings, but there is little interaction among meeting participants and community members. Join us for a discussion about community outreach initiatives, where the gap between ESA ecologists, future ecologists, and local communities can be linked. One of ESA’s goals is to raise the public's awareness of the importance of ecological science. This special session will focus on the outreach field trip activity with San Jose’s public high schools. The goal of this special session is to develop ideas to implement education and outreach activities in future ESA meetings. The special session will use the outreach field trip, an activity organized by SEEDS students with San Jose’s public high schools, as an example on what the accomplishments can be on a local level. ESA members who attended the field trip are highly encouraged to attend, and we welcome anyone interested in closing the gap between ESA members and the communities hosting ESA meetings.