The work of Live & Learn Environmental Education first began in 1992 in Queensland, Australia. Local teachers provided environmental education programs on rainforest and reef conservation to local school children. The volunteers assessed their work and found that biological education alone was not leading to better community conservation. With renewed energy, Live & Learn redesigned its efforts to promote environmental, action-focused education in the South Pacific.

Their first country office was opened in the Solomon Islands in 1995, with a further seven offices opened in the Asia-Pacific region by 2009. The Live & Learn network of locally registered non-governmental organisations has grown significantly since 1992, now operating in 11 countries.  

Live & Learn International is an Australian organisation based in Melbourne and acts as the international network office. The international network office is registered under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Vic). The Melbourne office provides strategic and technical support across all countries and ensures effectiveness and transparency as per the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct.

Vision

Live & Learn’s vision is for a sustainable and equitable world free from poverty. 

Mission

Live & Learn educates, mobilises communities, and facilitates supportive partnerships in order to foster a greater understanding of sustainability, and to help move towards a sustainable future.

Live & Learn aims to: 

• - encourage individual and community attitudes, values and actions that are ethical and sustainable
• - encourage networks and partnerships between schools, children, youth, teachers, governments, chiefs, elders, parents, the media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• - share knowledge, skills, learning experiences and resources with others for the benefit of the physical and human environment
• - promote the integration of the concepts of human rights, environmentalism, humanitarianism, culture, gender equality and peace in all  projects and programs
• - promote action-based, effective and creative learning models and teaching methodologies.

Their Identity

Local knowledge and global understanding are the starting points in developing an ethic in environmental and development education. Local ownership of environmental and development education programs, open participation and equality remain the foundation of our organisation.

Live & Learn works with communities throughout Asia and the Pacific to design, implement and learn from community-based development projects. The projects are specific to each community and cover a number of thematic program areas. These include:

• - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
• - sustainable use of biodiversity
• - environmental governance
• - natural resource-based conflict management and peace building
• - understanding climate change
• - sustainable energy options
• - community-based waste reduction and management
• - human rights
• - community disaster prevention and preparedness.

Live & Learn funds its programs with support from the public, governments, the corporate sector and international development agencies.