Recognizing that ecologists employ underlying assumptions and working methods that require retooling; that ecological contributions need to be defined and valued; and that ecologist need better positioning within the development process, we seek to address these gaps through an inspire session consisting of cross disciplinary academics and practitioners. The nexus of ecology with urban design, landscape architecture and city planning are critical intersections where facilitating knowledge-to-action can promote resiliency. For ecologists to increase engagement, retooling ecological contributions and repositioning the ecologist in knowledge co-production with urban designers and city officials is necessary. Educational and real-world training for ecologists is limited. This session will explore a series of projects that integrate ecological analysis and research with implemented design projects. A range of project examples will be organized around different stages of the design process. Presenters will include practitioners, ecologists and city officials, offering a range of stakeholder perspectives. Taken together, the projects will provide a framework for setting up urban experimental research as design projects and rely on the design process to foster a collaborative exchange for redefining experiments for cities. The presentations are part of the Earth Stewardship Initiative (www.earthstewardshipinitiative.com), a forum for ecologist to learn the skills to bridge gaps between scientific knowledge and research methods through design. The program fosters a transformative forum for learning by doing through novel urban land planning embedded in the ESA annual meeting.