Sustainable Living evening courses
and introductory workshops

2009 courses run during each each school term

Find out how you can do your bit for for future generations of New Zealanders. Have fun learning about food growing, shopping for bargains, saving fuel costs when travelling, and how to have a heathier home - along with others who share your interest.
Become 'part of the solution' on climate change and responding to Peak Oil (the end of cheap transport fuels) with your new practical skills and relevant knowledge - drawn from independent, non commercial sources.

The latest course information is available sorted by region of New Zealand on our Sustainable Living website. http://www.sustainableliving.org.nz/Sustainable-Living-Regional-Info.aspx

These community education evening classes and weekend workshops feature great discussion, hands-on learning methods, and are backed by well-researched notes. Action leaders or course tutors are helped by a 'facilitators guide' and reference information, published specially for them on CD, plus regional training events, telephone and email support from the North Island and South Island coordinators at 03 960 2656 and 09 630 0130. To make register interest in learning and meeting others near where you live, or to contribute to tutoring if you have relevant experience, email to us from our Registration Page.

Bringing the Programme to additional areas of NZ

26 councils are already members of the Sustainable Living programme - see our 'about' page for the list of partners. If you think your city, region or district council in New Zealand might be interested to join the programme, first read these subscriber notes (a pdf file), and discuss the idea with councillors and/or officers. After that, you or the Council staff can get in touch with the national coordinator (email details are on those subscriber notes, or phone Rhys Taylor direct on 03 960 2656). Enquiries like this from Transition Towns and local sustainability groups have helped us to bring Sustainable Living into several new areas in 2008-9.

Research supporting this community education approach

A study made in collaboration with Will Allen of Landcare Research Ltd, funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, shows real impacts of the Programme on 'behaviour change towards sustainability' and that it holds up well to international comparisons. Read the comparative research, 2007. A case study paper is available from the Canadian international web-journal Innovation in 2008:

Secondary school use - for Achievement Standards

Some of the materials have been trialled within the secondary school social sciences curriculum, at Unlimited – an innovative high school based in central Christchurch – and previously at the more traditional Christchurch Girls High School, working within the Science and Geography curriculum. A case study about the trial at CGHS is available here: download school case study (pdf file 151Kb). Since then we have moved on, and several Level 2 'Education for Sustainability' Achievement Standards, suffficient to assess one term's Year 12 class work, have been developed, using study material from our community topics on shopping, waste and travel - enquiries from secondary school teachers about trialling this new material which is now ready for use, welcomed by the National Coordinator (Rhys Taylor) on 03 960 2656 or rhys (at)sustainableliving.org.nz.

Find a community-based course near to you

Note that the course listing information is now located here: Sustainable Living regional pages.