The American Meteorological Society and the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology co-sponsored the Forum on Observing the Environment from the Ground Up held March 8-9, 2016. This Session will further the discussions begun at the Forum to discuss innovative observing efforts underway nationwide that are focused on conditions from the surface through the atmospheric boundary layer. The environmental observational landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Federal and local agencies, private firms, academic institutions, and the general public are increasingly taking advantage of new instrumentation, communication, and software technologies to meet their needs. Participants will be able to provide their perspectives on prospects for taking advantage of new technologies, improving coordination among the diverse efforts throughout the environmental observing enterprise, and meeting the multiple and ever growing needs of the users of environmental information.