What should the role be of ecologists, other scientists and ecology students within community efforts? How active can we be in local and global issues as ecologists? How can the modern ecologist each do their part in communicating with the public and engaging communities in pertinent scientific issues that affect society’s well-being? This interactive workshop will give feedback on the Ecologists’ Guide to Working with Communities being developed by the Environmental Justice (EJ) Section. The guide will be drafted during 2011, adapting elements published by other organizations as guidelines for community participation and then shared with ecologists for feedback and ideas. To identify best practices, we’ll open with a panel discussion featuring experts on working with conservation and EJ issues. EJ-impacted community organizations will contribute perspectives and tips on how ecologists can best collaborate with communities. Two graduate students in ecology will contribute their perspectives. One of them doing work on urban ecosystems and a post-doctoral student in ecology will provide perspectives as an ecologist that focuses on doing EJ-related research that influences Native American policy issues. Other ecologists and community organizations will be invited to share their wisdom and ideas. We’ll discuss ongoing challenges, success stories and what hasn’t worked in collaborations. Break-out groups will give feedback on a draft and identify and develop key components (issues and elements) towards a comprehensive and relevant guide to working with communities that ecologists can use.