New US Environmental Protection Agency Award

To commemorate the EPA’s 50th anniversary last year, the Boy Scouts of America and EPA signed a memorandum of understanding to create a special award, encouraging those in the Scouts BSA program to strive to protect the environment. The award, which features a patch, requires Scouts to earn environmental and community health-focused merit badges and participate in a service project.

The award is designed to teach Scouts about their world and encourage them to explore and preserve it. The URL for the application is at the end of the post. To earn the 50th Anniversary Environmental Protection Agency award, Scouts must earn four merit badges: the Public Health merit badge and one from each of three following groups.

Animal study group

  • Animal Science
  • Bird Study
  • Insect Study
  • Mammal Study
  • Reptile and Amphibian Study

Outdoor activity group

  • Backpacking
  • Camping
  • Climbing
  • Canoeing
  • Fishing
  • Fly-Fishing
  • Hiking
  • Gardening
  • Kayaking
  • Rafting
  • Scuba Diving
  • Whitewater
  • Wilderness Survival

Earth sciences group

  • Energy
  • Forestry
  • Geology
  • Nature
  • Oceanography
  • Plant Science
  • Soil and Water Conservation
  • Weather

If the Scout has already earned these merit badges, they can count toward the Environmental Protection Agency award. In addition to the merit badges, Scouts must also participate in an environmental or public health community service project totaling at least six hours, as part of an approved Scouting program. The project could be anything from picking up litter to organizing a public health awareness initiative. All requirements must be met by 31 December 2021.

For more details go to Bryan on Scouting for 19 January 2021.