ESA’s Earth Stewardship Initiative (ESI) demonstration projects bring together city managers, community leaders, designers, and ecologists to envision and shape sustainable cities that are healthy for both ecosystems and people. The initiative’s multidisciplinary framework links ecological research with landscape architecture, urban planning, and community perspectives to address arising ecological and social challenges caused by increasing global change and urbanization. The initiative coincides with the annual ESA meetings to create opportunities for the largest yearly gathering of ecologists to lend expertise to ongoing local projects in host cities. With four projects in two cities to date, the demonstration projects have shown that ESI’s framework can effectively offer significant and valuable contributions to the progress of local projects, lasting beyond the weeks of the meetings. This session will explore ESI’s unique approach to bridging ecology and design to shape sustainable cities through (1) an overview of ESI framework and principles, (2) highlights of past projects as case studies, (3) insights into follow-up projects that have stemmed from demonstration projects, (4) perspectives from senior ecologists involved in the initiative, and (5) discussion of ESI’s contribution to the knowledge of managing urban landscapes for both ecosystem resilience and human well-being.