“On my honor I will do my best, to conserve the natural systems on which all life depends…”



Lenny Bruce once remarked that maybe Smokey the Bear didn’t start forest fires, but that he eats Boy Scouts for their hats. Well, hats and uniform styles may change, but the Boy Scouts have conservation at their core. Since their founding in 1910, Scouting has been about, among other things, preserving the out of doors.  With merit badges in Conservation, Forestry and Environmental Science, Boy Scouts have an opportunity to learn the skills and grow into the environmental leaders of the future.

While forestry and conservation are more traditional, environmental science is a newer badge. Scouts get a taste of what it’s like to be an environmental scientist. They get to conduct experiments and observe how the natural world works. To earn it Scouts must:

1. Make a time line of the history of environmental science in America, including the contributions made by the Boy Scouts to environmental science.
2. Define the terms population, community, ecosystem, biosphere, symbiosis, niche, habitat, conservation, threatened species, endangered species, extinction, pollution prevention, brownfield, ozone, watershed, airshed, nonpoint source, hybrid vehicle, fuel cell. (I notice that waste, recycling, and climate change are not on the list. Maybe for extra credit)
3. Do an activity from each of a list that includes ecology, Air Pollution, and Water Pollution , Endangered Species, Pollution Prevention, Resource Recovery, and Conservation
4. Choose two outdoor study areas and list the species in each area and observe the ecosystems, and identify the items that would need to be included in an environmental impact statement for a project planned in that area.
5. Find out about three career opportunities in environmental science. Find out the education, training, and experience required for one of them and discuss it with a counselor as to why this profession is of interest.

To finds out more about this merit badge go to the Boy Scouts of America website.

Now let’s all stand up, place our hands over our hearts, and recite the Boy Scout’s Conservation Oath:

As an American, I will do my best to --
Be clean in my outdoor manners,
Be careful with fire,
Be considerate in the outdoors, and
Be conservation-minded.

Now put out that campfire. We don’t want to tee off Smokey the Bear. He looks hungry…