When the first co-design meeting took place in Nam Tien, Xayabury, back in November 2023, no one could have predicted how the journey would transform schools, teachers, and communities. Over the past two years, one lesson has become crystal clear: it truly takes a village to cultivate environmental education. 

In our case, it took diverse stakeholders coming together with a shared purpose.   

From the very beginning, this was never a standalone effort. The co-design process brought together a wide network of local stakeholders: school directors, teachers, local government agencies, and specialized partners such as the Northern Agricultural and Forestry College and The Field Alliance. Together, they identified needs, shared experiences, and co-created a plan for learning rooted in local realities. 

Through workshops and training sessions, teachers gained practical tools and confidence to bring environmental education into their classrooms. These shared efforts bore fruit in July this year, when five participating schools proudly received their Green School Certificates, a milestone symbolizing not just institutional success, but the collective heartbeat of a community investing in its children and environment. 

Environmental education begins not only with lesson plans, but in the learning environment, where proper infrastructure helps students develop everyday, environmentally responsible habits. That’s why one of the first priorities was improving school and learning infrastructure, turning classrooms into places that nurture curiosity and well-being. 

In Nam Tien, schools were renovated, waste management systems installed, and teachers trained in organic composting and sustainable waste practices. In Xayabury Ethnic Minority School, a solar-powered water pump now provides clean water, a result of knowledge exchange between Lao teachers and Thai farmers. New water purifiers have reduced the use of plastic bottles, while Wi-Fi connectivity makes interactive learning possible. 

In some schools, these changes were built, quite literally, by the hands of community members. Locals volunteered time and labor to refurbish classrooms, paint walls, and plant trees. Their efforts embody the spirit behind this initiative: that lasting change happens when communities come together for a shared purpose. 

In November 2024, learning on Green School practices expanded beyond Xayabury province. Fifteen participants from local government and schools joined an exchange with the Luang Prabang Green School Network to explore practices and management approaches for adoption in Xayabury schools. 

A few months later, in January 2025, the learning journey expanded beyond Laos. Teachers, community leaders, and a representative from the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to visit green schools that had faced and overcome similar challenges. 

Despite limited budgets, the Thai schools had built strong partnerships with their local communities and private sector supporters, finding creative ways to sustain their green initiatives. Inspired, the Lao delegation gathered at the end of the trip to plan their own green future by mapping out ideas, collaborations, and strategies to continue the movement back home. 

Over the past two years, with support from The Field Alliance and Northern Agricultural College, and in partnership with local education authorities, teachers participated in comprehensive training programs covering waste management, biodiversity conservation, composting, school gardening, and climate change adaptation. Reflections from the teachers highlight the impact of these trainings. In interviews with twelve teachers, all noted that they are now more attentive to the environment than before. Each school has implemented its own waste management system, students are actively learning to care for their surroundings, and organic farming practices have been introduced. The results speak for themselves: five schools we supported from the beginning received their Green School Certificates in July 2025, and all plan to continue and expand their green initiatives.

Working with schools in Xayabury is an investment in Laos’ future—a future intertwined with its forests, biodiversity, and communities. Laos still boasts one of Southeast Asia’s highest levels of forest cover, with more than 200 protected areas across 27% of the country. Yet, the pressures of agricultural expansion threaten this natural wealth (Wyss Academy for Nature, 2025).

By empowering students and teachers with environmental education, the project is helping nurture a generation that values and protects these landscapes, ensuring that conservation efforts are rooted in local knowledge and sustained for years to come.

The journey has strengthened collaboration among teachers, government officials, and community members, who continue to support and apply what they have learned. In recognition of the project’s impact, the Xayabury Provincial Governor awarded Wyss Academy a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement.

Today, these achievements stand as a testament to what can happen when people work together toward a common goal. The foundations are set, schools equipped, teachers empowered, and communities engaged, for environmental education to continue thriving.