Teaching respect for our natural world is a big part of what we do in scouting, from encouraging the boys to pick up litter to learning the finer points of reducing their impact on wildlife habitats.

This year, Pack 564 will make it easier for scouts (and scouters!) to learn more about outdoor ethics while earning the BSA’s Outdoor Ethics Awareness and/or Outdoor Ethics Action awards.

I’ll lead two activity-filled training sessions (dates are still pending)  to reinforce Leave No Trace and outdoor ethics lessons the scouts have undoubtedly started to learn in their dens.

Then, on the morning of Saturday, March 21, we will have a pack-wide service day at Mountain Park, where all scouts will have an opportunity to put those skills to work, helping to clean up and beautify our own Mountain Park Park. I’ll be posting a signup for this event soon. Please sign up to participate by Friday, March 6 so I can provide an accurate count to the Gwinnett Parks system.

Participation in these events will count towards the Outdoor Ethics Awareness and/or Outdoor Ethics Action awards, which can be earned by all scouts and registered adult leaders.

Qualifying for the Awards

Scouts and scouters who want to earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award must complete two online quizzes, explain what the BSA Outdoor Code means to them and attend one of the training courses described above, or another session facilitated by a certified Outdoor Ethics trainer (For instance, the Northeast Georgia Council is offering training sessions at Scoutland for adults and scouts once a month except for March).

To qualify for the Outdoor Ethics Action Award, scouts must first earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award, then meet the following requirements:

• Explain to your den leader or parent what the Leave No Trace front country guidelines mean to you
• Follow Leave No Trace front country guidelines on three outings with your den or family, and explain to your den leader what you did on each outing to “Leave No Trace” (if you went on the pack camping trip in October, you’ve already completed one of the three required outings)
• With your family at a den meeting — or with your den at a pack meeting — put on a short activity, such as a skit or demonstration on a principle of Leave No Trace or Tread Lightly! (one note … pack meeting time will likely be limited!)
• Participate in a service project (the March 21 work day, or, if you can’t make that, another den-based project)
• Complete rank-based achievements (Achievement 5 for Tigers, Achievement 7 for Wolves, Achievement 12 for Bears and the Outdoorsman activity badge for Webelos)
• Make a poster about what you’ve learned and display it at a pack meeting. This could be an individual or den project, so long as every boy qualifying for the award participates in making the poster.

The Awards

Recognition for the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award is a patch that can be worn by scouts and scouters as a temporary insignia on the right pocket of the uniform shirt. The Outdoor Ethics Action Award is a name tag that can be personalized and worn permanently on the scout or scouter’s uniform.

For Den leaders

If you are interested in helping your scouts earn these awards, you may want to begin folding some of these activities into your meetings, if you have not already done so. You will have until the deadline for May pack meeting awards to complete the requirements. Please consult the BSA’s Outdoor Ethics Awareness page for Cub Scouts for full details. Submit requests for these awards through TroopTrack.

Registered adult volunteers can also earn the Outdoor Ethics Action award, although the requirements are more complicated for adults than scouts. Please get in touch with me for details if you are interested.

If you have any questions, please give me a shout at news@bsapack564.org.