Role-play provides fifth-grade students with the opportunity to develop meaningful connections to environmental science concepts and understand how those concepts relate to their community. Role-play also builds students' communication skills and increases their understanding of the attitudes of science. By participating in role-play, teachers develop a learning community that respects and values diverse opinions while constructing a deeper understanding of local environmental issues. This article describes a role-play activity which focuses on community activists trying to discourage people from planting nonnative plants (i.e., Bradford pear trees). The idea for this role-play came from local news stories about certain community members' dislike for Bradford pear trees and their potential as an invasive species. (Contains 1 figure.)