Requirements
1. Make a time line of the history of environmental science in America. Identify
the contribution made by the Boy Scouts of America to environmental science.
Include dates, names of people or organizations, and important events.
2. Define the following 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.
3. Do ONE activity from seven of the following categories (using the activities
in this pamphlet as the basis for planning and projects):
(a) Ecology
(1) Conduct an experiment to find out how living things respond to
changes in their environments. Discuss your observations with
your counselor.
(2) Conduct an experiment illustrating the greenhouse effect. Keep a
journal of your data and observations. Discuss your conclusions with
your counselor.
(3) Discuss what is an ecosystem. Tell how it is maintained in nature and
how it survives.
(b) Air Pollution
(1) Perform an experiment to test for particulates that contribute to air
pollution. Discuss your findings with your counselor.
(2) Record the trips taken, mileage, and fuel consumption of a family
car for seven days, and calculate how many miles per gallon the car gets.
Determine whether any trips could have been combined (“chained”) rather
than taken out and back. Using the idea of trip chaining, determine how
many miles and gallons of gas could have been saved in those seven days.
(3) Explain what is acid rain. In your explanation, tell how it affects
plants and the environment and the steps society can take to help reduce
its effects.
(c) Water Pollution
(1) Conduct an experiment to show how living things react to thermal
pollution. Discuss your observations with your counselor.
(2) Conduct an experiment to identify the methods that could be used
to mediate (reduce) the effects of an oil spill on waterfowl. Discuss your
results with your counselor.
(3) Describe the impact of a waterborne pollutant on an aquatic community.
Write a 100-word report on how that pollutant affected aquatic life,
what the effect was, and whether the effect is linked to biomagnification.
(d) Land Pollution
(1) Conduct an experiment to illustrate soil erosion by water. Take photographs
or make a drawing of the soil before and after your experiment, and
make a poster showing your results. Present your poster to your counselor.
(2) Perform an experiment to determine the effect of an oil spill on land.
Discuss your conclusions with your counselor.
(3) Photograph an area affected by erosion. Share your photographs with
your counselor and discuss why the area has eroded and what might be
done to help alleviate the erosion.
(e) Endangered Species
(1) Do research on one endangered species found in your state. Find
out what its natural habitat is, why it is endangered, what is being done
to preserve it, and how many individual organisms are left in the wild.
Prepare a 100-word report about the organism, including a drawing.
Present your report to your patrol or troop.
(2) Do research on one species that was endangered or threatened but
that has now recovered. Find out how the organism recovered, and what
its new status is. Write a 100-word report on the species and discuss it with
your counselor.
(3) With your parent’s and counselor’s approval, work with a natural
resource professional to identify two projects that have been approved to
improve the habitat for a threatened or endangered species in your area.
Visit the site of one of these projects and report on what you saw.
(f) Pollution Prevention, Resource Recovery, and Conservation
(1) Look around your home and determine 10 ways your family can help
reduce pollution. Practice at least two of these methods for seven days and
discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
(2) Determine 10 ways to conserve resources or use resources more
efficiently in your home, at school, or at camp. Practice at least two of
these methods for seven days and discuss with your counselor what
you have learned.
(3) Perform an experiment on packaging materials to find out which ones
are biodegradable. Discuss your conclusion with your counselor.
(g) Pollination
(1) Using photographs or illustrations, point out the differences between
a drone and a worker bee. Discuss the stages of bee development (eggs,
larvae, pupae). Explain the pollination process, and what propolis is and
how it is used by honey bees. Tell how bees make honey and beeswax,
and how both are harvested. Explain the part played in the life of the hive
by the queen, the drones, and the workers.
(2) Present to your counselor a one-page report on how and why honey
bees are used in pollinating food crops. In your report, discuss the problems
faced by the bee population today, and the impact to humanity if
there were no pollinators. Share your report with your troop or patrol,
your class at school, or another group approved by your counselor.
Before you choose requirement 3g(3), you will need
to first find out whether you are allergic to bee stings.
Visit an allergist or your family physician to find out. If
you are allergic to bee stings, you should choose another
option within requirement 3. In completing requirement
3g(3), your counselor can help you find an established beekeeper to
meet with you and your buddy. Ask whether you can help hive a
swarm or divide a colony of honey bees. Before your visit, be sure
your buddy is not allergic to bee stings. For help with locating a beekeeper
in your state, visit www.beeculture.com and click on
"Resources," then select "Find Help" and "Find a Local Beekeeper."
(3) Hive a swarm OR divide at least one colony of honey bees. Explain
how a hive is constructed.
(h) Invasive Species
(1) Learn to identify the major invasive plant species in your community
or camp and explain to your counselor what can be done to either eradicate
or control their spread.
(2) Do research on two invasive plant or animal species in your community
or camp. Find out where the species originated, how they were
transported to the United States, their life history, how they are spread, and
the recommended means to eradicate or control their spread. Report your
research orally or in writing to your counselor.
(3) Take part in a project of at least one hour to eradicate or control the
spread of an invasive plant species in your community or camp.
4. Choose two outdoor study areas that are very different from one another
(e.g., hilltop vs. bottom of a hill; field vs. forest; swamp vs. dry land).
For BOTH study areas, do ONE of the following:
(a) Mark off a plot of 4 square yards in each study area, and count the number
of species found there. Estimate how much space is occupied by each plant
species and the type and number of nonplant species you find. Report to your
counselor orally or in writing the biodiversity and population density of these
study areas.
(b) Make at least three visits to each of the two study areas (for a total of six
visits), staying for at least 20 minutes each time, to observe the living and nonliving
parts of the ecosystem. Space each visit far enough apart that there are
readily apparent differences in the observations. Keep a journal that includes
the differences you observe. Discuss your observations with your counselor.
5. Using the construction project provided or a plan you create on your own,
identify the items that would need to be included in an environmental impact
statement for the project planned.
6. Find out about three career opportunities in environmental science. Pick
one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this
profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession
might interest you.
Resources:
Scouting.org Merit Badges - Requirements
boyscouttrail.com Merit Badges