Terry Sunderland recently spoke at the 20th Commonwealth Forestry Conference on ‘Communicating science: A practical perspective’. He emphasized on why communicating science is an important process to disseminate research findings, influence policy and have broader impact. His talk focused on science communication strategies that have proven effective in “getting the message out” to a wider audience. He also shared examples of bridging the research – policy divide, whereby science has actually informed legislation and practice.