Where science and story meet in research and engagement

Ecologists diagnose problems and figure out how living systems work, but most of us have less experience with how things could or should be, despite the relevance of ecological research to economy and policy. To engage real people--people that have not taken courses in statistics or run field experiments--we need to tell stories about a range of solutions to environmental problems. By pitching stories and writing for solutions-oriented outlets like the independent magazine, Ensia (an extended example), ecologists can practice expanding from the how and the why to the possible, and reach new audiences.