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Vertical connections, constructed using inquiry, give students the skills to reach new heights in both their academic and local communities. In this article, the authors present inquiry projects, developed by middle level teachers, to ensure that students use higher-level thinking skills to improve the community. Each project is connected to the previous year's to give students a deeper understanding of how research can help citizens build a sustainable community. Teachers work together to plan field studies and guide students in presenting their findings to others in the community using models, PowerPoint presentations, a web accessible database, and reports from field investigations. The projects are as follows: (1) healthy marine ecosystems--sixth grade; (2) interdisciplinary science: biodiversity and development--seventh grade; and (3) collaborating to create a better biosphere--eighth grade. (Contains 1 figure and 4 online resources.)