d’Arcy has worked with thousands of young people around the world become true Global Citizens by inspiring them to work towards making real changes happen in order to combat the many problems facing us today. I, for one, can certainly say without a doubt that d’Arcy is the reason that I now live my life in a way that benefits this planet and the people that live on it.

Each time I meet d’Arcy I am reminded what it means to be human, and how the lives of others are far more important than our own.

d’Arcy is one of those rarest of people – a difference maker who has dedicated their lives to providing a stirring example of how one can leave a gentle footprint on the planet, how one can bring cultures together, how one can inspire children (and their parents) to live more selfless lives, how one can be inclusive in everything we do.

When I asked my eldest daughter what was d’Arcy’s main message when he spoke at her school in earthquake-ravaged Nepal, she said: “He taught us that one person could change the world.”

I’ve never before met someone so tireless and undaunted in the face of global challenges such as climate change, inequality and poverty. I’ve seen entire schools of hundreds of students addressed by d’Arcy and motivated by his passion to then pursue their own projects to make a difference. He’s exactly the sort of role model we need at a time when it could be all too easy to throw up our hands and walk away from the problems around us.

d’Arcy Lunn literally is a global educator. He has travelled across the globe and introduced over 50,000 school students to the values of global citizenship and personal contribution. He is a qualified teacher, who adores his craft but has chosen to devote his skills to taking children outside of their traditional curriculums and beyond their own borders. He encourages them to think about their interconnectedness and the impact they have on each other across the globe and make “teaspoons of change” every day.

I can’t speak more highly of d’Arcy and know that I speak here on behalf of many others that he regularly works with across schools, foundations and civil society to encourage young people to contribute to their community and their world.

d’Arcy  told me repeatedly that he didn’t want to be paid, and that he wouldn’t accept more than $2 a day in allowance for sustenance. He said that if the world’s poorest people could live off it, he could too. All the while, he was cycling around Australia, educating students and community groups about the role that we as citizens can play in ending extreme poverty by 2030. And he wasn’t just doing it for a few days, he was doing it for months. All because he believed that if we’re to engage fellow citizens in bigger than self issues, we need to meet them in their communities, and walk alongside them.

For me, this memory captures everything that makes d’Arcy such a remarkable advocate and educator. His commitment to living his beliefs, to humbly engage others in his journey, and his no nonsense approach to building community.

d’Arcy is as inspirational in front of an audience as he is in conversation but never more than simply through the way he lives each day. If ever I am reflecting upon how I can be a better person, live a better life, or have a better impact on my local or global community, I ask myself, “what would d’Arcy do”.

d’Arcy is a humanitarian and educator changing lives everywhere he goes by inviting us to experience “Living Below the Line” and to do much more to better understand poverty.  His life experience and personal journey, full of risks, challenges and triumphs, definitely make him a leader and a pioneer that has had a positive impact on a wide range of people’s lives around the world.

d’Arcy is a one-man celebration of the human spirit and has a seemingly unlimited capacity for compassion, understanding, and good deeds. I believe another global explorer, Father Strickland, had someone like d’Arcy in mind when he said, “A man may do an immense deal of good, if he does not care who gets the credit for it.”

Hey Darcy,
Let me introduce myself. On the 13th of August you came to Ivanhoe Grammar School and did a speech on Sustainability. I was at the assembly in the crowd. I’m a year six student. Your speech really inspired me and sparked my interest. I wanted to thank you for that. I think you are an incredible individual and I admire your work. I’m not a sustainability leader and I’m not anything special. But I think everyone needs to step up and do something to help the earth and give back to the community. I have always wanted to make a veggie garden in my backyard, but I don’t know how. I have always wanted to donate to something, but I don’t know how. I would love it if you could write back and help me start making my Teaspoons of Change. You are making a difference. Thank you.

Hi d’Arcy. My name is Georgia.

In 2019, I founded my own clean up group in Singapore – One Planet. I organise community and beach clean ups around Singapore and encourage others to do their own. I am very excited as we just collected our 10th tonne of rubbish last week – something I would never have believed possible in such a clean country.

I wanted to let you know that I attended one of your parent talks at Dulwich College (Singapore) a few years ago now. You talked about how you had stopped buying water bottles. At the time, I thought it was a crazy idea, especially in somewhere as hot as Singapore, but decided to give it a go. All these years later, I think I have only bought 1 or 2 in desperation.

Anyway, just wanted to reach out and say thanks – I found your talk very inspiring, and it helped me work harder with my clean ups – I am proud that I am making my own Teaspoons of Change!

Kind regards
Georgia Mor
IG: one_planet_singapore