Boy Scouts
Cub Scout Achievements
*Leave No Trace Awareness
Prepare to make the "Leave No Trace" pledge by learning how to protect the environment and your youself when out in nature - whether it be in your backyard or in the back country. Cub scouts will discuss and practice the following principles: planning ahead, sticking to the trails, managing a pet, leaving what you find, respecting others and trashing their trash.
*Cub Scout World Conservation Award
Investigate how "thinking globally" and "acting locally" help to preserve and improve our environment. Cub scouts will discover that all nations are closely related through their natural resources and are interdependent with our world environment.
Webelos Activity Badges
Naturalist
Become naturalists during this program by getting up close with some of the plants and animals that live in our area. Webelos will practice observation skills by looking for signs of wildlife, discover how living things depend on each other, and investigate the characteristics and importance of wetland ecosystems.
Forester
Forests provide food, water, shelter, and space for many living things. Webelos will explore a forest habitat to learn some of the plants that are native to our area, what makes up a forest ecosystem, and what forests need to keep healthy.
Geology
Geology is the study of Earth. Webeloes will investigate materials that make up Earth, the processes that change it, and the history of how things happened, including human civilization, which depends on natural materials for existence.
*Leave No Trace Awareness
Prepare to make the "Leave No Trace" pledge by learning how to protect the environment and your youself when out in nature - whether it be in your backyard or in the back country. Webelos will discuss and practice the following principles: planning ahead, sticking to the trails, managing a pet, leaving what you find, respecting others and trashing their trash.
*Cub Scout World Conservation Award
Investigate how "thinking globally" and "acting locally" help to preserve and improve our environment. Webelos will discover that all nations are closely related through their natural resources and are interdependent with our world environment.
Boy Scout Merit Badges
Forestry
This program offers Boy Scouts a chance to explore the forest habitat. Find out how to identify different species of shrubs and plants and how they contribute to the succession of a forest. Discover how to determine the age of a tree and why there are so many different species of trees in forests. Understand the contributions trees provide to consumer products, the environment, our social well-being, even the water supply and learn what is being done to manage and maintain our forests.
Soil and Water Conservation
This program offers Boy Scouts a chance to explore soil and water conservation. Boy Scouts will explore how soil is formed, the composition of different soils, how to identify and control soil erosion, and why soil conservation is important. Explore watersheds and understand their importance in the hydrologic cycle, and learn about water pollution and its effects on the environment. Finally, Boy Scouts will identify and observe what soil, water, and energy conservation practices are being performed in their local area and understand what role each of us has in maintaining clean water and healthy soil.
*Environmental Science
While earning the environmental Science merit badge, Scouts will get a taste of what it is like to be an environmental scientist, making observations and carrying out experiments to investigate the natural world.
*Insect Study
In earning the Insect Study merit badge, Scouts will glance into the strange and fascinating world of the insect. There, they will meet tiny creatures with tremendous strength and spped, see insects that undergo startling changes in habit and form as they grow, and learn how insects see, taste, smell and feel the world around them.
*Mammal Study
A mammal may weight as little as 1/12th ounce, as do some shrews, or as much as 150 tons, like the blue whale. It may spring, waddle, swim, or even fly. But if it has milk for its young, has hair of some kind, is relatively intelligent, and has warm blood, then it is a mammal. In earning this badge, Scouts will investigate the similiarities and differences of this amazing group of animals.
Geology
Geology is the study of Earth. Scouts will investigate materials that make up Earth, the processes that change it, and the history of how things happened, including human civilization, which depends on natural materials for existence.
*These programs have pre-requisites that must be completed in advance.
Service Projects For Eagle Scouts
A number of service opportunities are available in the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab. For example: constructing a boardwalk, designing and installing a planting project, coordinating volunteers to do a major planting or invasive species removal project, and trail resurfacing. If you have other project ideas or would like to discuss doing a service project at the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab, E-mail: dbenson@marian.edu or call 317.955.6028.