An understanding of general ecological concepts is necessary for understanding the world and for making informed environmental decisions. Given the rapid growth and development facing many communities and society as a whole, an ecological understanding must be part of every citizen’s lifetime learning experience, beginning as early as elementary school and continuing throughout school and into adult informal education. The goals of the ESA's Educational Program include engaging the public in a dialogue on ecological research and issues and improving the quality of ecology education at all levels. The 2008 annual meeting theme reflects ESA’s desire to contend with the educational challenges facing all ecologists. To promote best practices in fostering ecological literacy in public audiences, we need to reflect on past research and current challenges, as well as to develop an agenda for future directions. Our session will invite participants to engage with research themes compiled by the organizers from recent ecological education publications. Participants will divide into teams to address research themes, share their personal research agendas, and highlight goals in common. We will also highlight gaps that should be addressed with future research initiatives. From our common goals and future needs, we will prioritize research areas and then develop an agenda that encompasses the next five years and beyond. Output from the workshop will be collected and compiled. A consensus document will be presented to the education committee during the following ESA Annual Meeting.