PHILOSOPHY A ‘living school’ demonstrates a new vision for a sustainable culture. All over the world models of best practice are showing that better alternatives exist and that these alternatives can provide the same if not a better standard of living without impacting adversely on our ecology or our fellow human beings. These living schools are in community gardens, schools, homes, farms and parks. Many exist in isolation, rarely seen but highly developed and functional. Living schools incorporate appropriate technologies and are designed using the principles of living systems. Living schools acknowledge the interconnectedness and complexity of current social and environmental problems, and the urgency of creating a new generation of informed and skilled community leaders. They foster a deep understanding of the natural world, grounded in direct experience that leads to sustainable behaviour. Living Schools aims to promote the development of these models and to build the capacity of the organisations and people creating them. Thus, Living Schools educational philosophy is based on four principles: · Experiential learning · The learning community · Action research learning · Critical thinking Details of the Living Schools approach to learning for sustainability can be found in our educational philosophy fact sheet.