The Living on the Edge initiative is the foundation of Friends of the Bluff's extensive coastal and marine education programs. The program is a model for developing volunteer led community education and engagement resources that support local land and sea managers, through the provision of high-quality education resources and delivery of a far-reaching engagement program.

Griffiths Island, Port Fairy, is an important Short-Tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna Tenuirostris) habitat. In recent years, their population has declined sharply, partly due to light pollution contributing to the grounding of sheerwater fledglings. Switch off for Shearwaters is a project by Friends of Griffiths Island focused on mitigating the impact of light pollution by undertaking habitat mapping, increasing community awareness and engaging local schools, and developing a light pollution management plan.

Every year, marine wildlife faces threats from discarded fishing lines and other fishing waste. The Seal the Loop campaign was developed as a response to this environmental issue, engaging community groups, local councils, and environmental organizations to reduce the impact of fishing waste by providing dedicated bins for anglers to dispose of fishing waste responsibly.

The Litter Trackers program is a pioneering initiative that provides a multi-faceted immersive learning experience through hands-on activities, online teaching resources and real-time tracking of GPS-enabled bottles. The program demonstrates how and where litter travels once it is dropped within a catchment, raising community awareness about the impact of litter on waterway health and the connections between catchment activities and receiving waters.

Since 2001, the Dolphin Research Institute's i sea, i care program has developed senior primary school students into Victorian coastal and marine ambassadors, who have in turn engaged nearly 2 million people across greater Melbourne. This year-long program trains 500 young marine ambassadors annually to peer teach their schools and communities in all aspects of the coastal and marine environment.

Gracelyn Hasthorpe is a young ambassador for environmental conservation working to educate the community on the impact of balloons and plastics in the environment. Gracelyn is encouraging people to stop pollution at its source by reducing their consumption of plastic products. She has demonstrated the impact that one person can have on the health and wellbeing of coastal waterways and inspired others to take action.