Earth Day

 

Everyone on our planet has a duty and an obligation to protect it.  Sometimes a little friendly reminder is in order as well.  We live in a disposable society where everything is single-use, broken then replaced instead of repaired, convenience trumps all... but at what cost?  Earth Day, founded in 1970, is a day where we have that annual reminder to encourage one another to support sustainability, environmental protection and do more

In Troop 1910, Scouts learn to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle but do we know what that really means?

Reduce -- use less. Buy reusable items so that your trash output is reduced.

Reuse -- find ways to repurpose what you have or let others reuse them -- donating old clothes is a great way to reuse things that still have lots of life in them

Recycle -- whenever possible, find ways to recycle everything you can.  

Conservation is a big part of Scouting and what a better time to focus on that than on Earth Day!  Here are 5 Merit Badges for Scouts who love the Earth featured on the Bryan on Scouting blog!

Forestry

Congratulations, you get 61 trees! (And you get 61 trees, and you get 61 trees … )

A 2008 NPR story estimated that everyone on Earth gets about 61 trees in their lifetime. Sounds like a lot, until you consider all the things those 61 trees get used for:

” … baseball bats, barrels, books, blocks, benches, crutches, coffee filters, guitars, grocery bags, pencils, pine oil, beds, billboards, buttons, candy wrappers, buttons, chewing gum, cork, crayons, egg cartons, fruit pie filling, kites, linoleum, luggage, paper, pingpong balls, chopsticks (especially the disposable kind), rubber, tambourines, telephone books, tires, toilet paper, turpentine, xylophones and yo-yos …”

OK, so those 61 trees don’t seem like that much after all. That’s why learning about sustainable forest management is so critical.

Scouts who earn the Forestry merit badge learn about the contributions forests make to various elements of our lives. And, just as important, they learn how to preserve our tree population for future generations.

Photography

You’re much more likely to protect the Earth if you’ve seen how incredible our planet really is. Unbelievable wildlife, breathtaking vistas and examples of nature’s awesome power can be preserved and shared with the click of a shutter button.

Pick up National Geographic magazine, for example, and you’ll see stunning photography that increases your appreciation for our world.

The Photography merit badge empowers Scouts to tell stories through images like these. Those stories could inspire the Scout and others to protect the planet and make sure those photoworthy places stick around for generations to come.

Seeing, as they say, is believing.

Soil and Water Conservation

In 2006, a Cornell professor said “soil erosion is second only to population growth as the biggest environmental problem the world faces.”

So, yeah, it’s a big deal. By earning the Soil and Water Conservation merit badge, Scouts gain an understanding about the ways humans affect those two titular resources.

More specifically, Scouts learn about erosion, water pollution and the hydrologic cycle.

But Scouts do more than sit around and lament what’s already happened because of their predecessors actions.

They complete conservation projects to stop the ill effects and discuss ways to stop future erosion. It’s all about preserving the Earth as we know it.

Environmental Science

Scouts who earn the Eagle-required* Environmental Science merit badge gain a better understanding of the ways humans impact our planet.

For example, in one requirement they’re asked to “record the trips taken, mileage and fuel consumption of a family car for seven days.”

Then they figure out whether any of those trips could’ve be combined to save gas, and, if so, how many gallons of gas that would’ve saved. Instead of picking up your prescription on Tuesday and your dry cleaning on Wednesday, for example, next time you should do them both in one trip.

Similarly eye-opening experiments deal with ecology, air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and protecting endangered species.

Every Eagle Scout is required to earn either the Environmental Science or the Sustainability merit badge. If every human was required to do the same, the planet’s health would be greatly improved.

Sustainability

If there were an official merit badge of Earth Day, it likely would be the Eagle-required* Sustainability merit badge.

One of the BSA’s newest merit badges, the Sustainability MB debuted in July 2013 and made headlines for its innovative requirements that force Scouts to analyze their own behaviors and how they affect our planet.

Before Scouts get to work on requirements that address sustainable practices in water, food, community, energy and other “stuff,” they first pause to consider what sustainability means to them.

Requirement 1 says, “Before starting work on any other requirements for this merit badge, write in your own words the meaning of sustainability. Explain how you think conservation and stewardship of our natural resources relate to sustainability. Have a family meeting, and ask family members to write down what they think sustainability means. Be sure to take notes.”

Those notes come in handy in a later requirement. It’s all part of helping Scouts be prepared for our modern world — a world where sustainable living isn’t just for tree-huggers anymore. It’s for us all.

Honorable mentions

• Animal Science
• Citizenship in the World
• Geology
• Nature

The BSA actually offers several special awards for those who go above and beyond in the name of conservation and sustainability. If you have a Scout interested in earning some of these notable awards, please encourage them to seek out leadership to discuss them