Scouting is synonymous with the great outdoors, but with that comes the responsibility of stewarding the environment. Members of Scouts BSA, Venturers, and adult Scouters have a unique opportunity to deepen their understanding of this role through the Outdoor Ethics Awareness award. This accolade serves as more than just a badge to sew onto a uniform; it’s a hallmark of education and commitment to responsible outdoor behavior.
The Outdoor Ethics Awareness award acts as a foundational step, teaching the basics of the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace principles. Scouts learn how to integrate these guidelines into their outdoor activities, reinforcing their role as responsible citizens. It’s the first move toward becoming an advocate for the environment.
What makes this award stand out is its practical focus. Unlike mere textbook learning, the requirements involve watching videos, taking online courses, and participating in hands-on workshops. This ensures a well-rounded understanding, arming scouts with the knowledge they need to act responsibly in the wild.
But this isn’t the end of the road. After receiving the Awareness award, there’s an option to aim for the Outdoor Ethics Action award. This advanced recognition pushes Scouts, Venturers, and adult leaders to actively apply their learned ethics in real-world scenarios, further solidifying their role as environmental stewards.
These awards are more than just symbols; they’re an educational journey that equips Scouts, Venturers, and Scouters with the tools needed to make ethical decisions outdoors. Earning them not only enriches the individual but also contributes positively to the broader outdoor community.
These awards are not available for Cub Scouts.
BSA Outdoor Ethics Awards
Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award Requirements
- Recite from memory and explain the meaning of the Outdoor Code.
- Watch the National Park Service Leave No Trace video. It’s on the right side of the page.
- Complete the Leave No Trace online course . Print the certificate.
- Complete the Tread Lightly! online course . Print the certificate.
- Participate in an outdoor ethics course, workshop, or training activity facilitated by a person who has completed the BSA outdoor ethics orientation course or is a BSA outdoor ethics trainer or master.
Outdoor Ethics Action Award Requirements
The requirements for the Action award are tailored to either Scouts BSA, Venturing, or an adult role in either program.
Once you’ve fulfilled the requirements for the Outdoor Ethics Awareness award, you’ve laid a solid groundwork in understanding responsible outdoor behavior. You’ve learned the Outdoor Code by heart, engaged with valuable online resources, and perhaps even participated in hands-on workshops. But the journey doesn’t stop here; you can take your commitment to ethical outdoor practices to the next level.
The Awareness award is your entry point; think of it as the equivalent of a foundation course in college. It gives you essential knowledge and skills, but there’s more depth to explore. That’s where the Outdoor Ethics Action award comes in. This advanced recognition challenges you to apply what you’ve learned, taking your outdoor ethics from theory into practice.
Transitioning to the Action award means transitioning from knowledge to active implementation. Here, the emphasis shifts from understanding to doing, as you’ll be required to demonstrate your skills and ethics in real-world outdoor settings. It’s about putting your knowledge into action, literally.
If the Awareness award shows that you know what you’re doing, the Action award shows that you’re doing what you know. So, if you’re looking to not just learn but also enact positive change in your outdoor activities, this next step is for you.
In short, the Action award serves as both a challenge and an opportunity, offering you the chance to make a tangible impact. The requirements are designed to not only test your skills but also to foster responsible environmental stewardship. Let’s delve into what it takes to earn this next-level recognition.
Scouts BSA Outdoor Ethics Action Award Requirements
- Do the following:
- Unless already completed, earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award.
- Complete the BSA outdoor ethics orientation course.
- Explain how each of the four points of the Outdoor Code guides your actions when outdoors.
- Do the following:
- Read Chapter 7 of the Boy Scout Handbook on Outdoor Ethics.
- Teach a skill related to the Outdoor Code or Leave No Trace to another Scout in your troop or another Scouting unit.
- Complete one of the following:
- Successfully complete a term as your troop Outdoor Ethics Guide.
- Participate in an outing that emphasizes the complete set of Leave No Trace or relevant Tread Lightly! principles. All members of the troop participating in the outing should use the outdoor ethics and the specific skills needed to minimize impacts from their use of the outdoors.
- Follow the Outdoor Code, Leave No Trace, and Tread Lightly! principles on three outings. Write a paragraph on each outing explaining how you followed the Outdoor Code, Leave No Trace, and Tread Lightly! Share it with your unit leader or an individual who has completed the BSA outdoor ethics orientation course.
- On a troop outing, help your troop on a service activity that addresses recreational impacts related to the type of outing. The project should be approved in advance by the landowner or land manager and lead to permanent or long-term improvements.
- Participate in a report at a court of honor or similar family event on the service activity in Requirement 5.
Venturer Outdoor Ethics Action Award Requirements
- Do the following:
- Unless already completed, earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award.
- Complete the BSA outdoor ethics orientation course.
- Explain how you live up to each of the four points of the Outdoor Code during an outing or adventure.
- Do the following:
- Read Fieldbook chapters about Leave No Trace, using stoves and campfires, hygiene and waste disposal, and traveling and camping in special environments. Review the discussion of Leave No Trace in the Ranger Guidebook, and the foreword and chapters on Conservation Aesthetic, Wilderness, and Land Ethic in A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Explain in your own words what Leopold meant when he stated, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise.”
- Lead a group approved by your unit leader in an activity that explores differing ethical viewpoints using materials from Scouting’s outdoor ethics page, Leave No Trace, or Tread Lightly!
- Complete one of the following:
- Become a Leave No Trace Trainer, Tread Lightly! TREAD Trainer, or successfully complete a term as a crew officer with responsibility for outdoor ethics training.
- Research the complete set of Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly! skills related to a planned outdoor adventure. Working with your crew leadership, prepare for the adventure, including learning the skills needed to minimize impacts. Practice the skills at least once before heading out on your adventure. While on your adventure, all members of the crew participating in the adventure should use the outdoor skills and ethics necessary to minimize impacts from their use of the outdoors.
- Follow the Outdoor Code, Leave No Trace, and Tread Lightly! principles on three outings. Develop a poster or presentation explaining how and why you followed the Outdoor Code, Leave No Trace, and Tread Lightly! Share it with a group approved by your unit leader or an individual who has completed the outdoor ethics orientation course.
- Do the following:
- Meet with a land owner or manager responsible for an outdoor recreational area or habitat that you use and/or enjoy and discuss the steps that you and your crew can take to reduce adverse impacts on the recreational ecosystem.
- With your crew leadership, help plan and participate in a campaign to reduce the adverse impacts on the recreational ecosystem. The campaign should include both service elements (e.g., land ethic—service to the land) and outdoor ethics educational components to help educate the public about how to minimize impacts to the area.
- Help plan and lead either a traditional or a social media event to educate the general public on the importance of protecting the area addressed in Requirement 5 and how they can help.
Scouter Outdoor Ethics Action Award Requirements
- Do the following:
- Earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award.
- Complete the BSA outdoor ethics orientation course.
- Discuss with your troop how each of the four points of the Outdoor Code guides your actions when outdoors.
- Read the North American Skills & Ethics booklet to learn about the principles of Leave No Trace. Review the principles of Tread Lightly! Review Chapter 7 of the Boy Scout Handbook and Fieldbook chapters about Leave No Trace, using stoves and campfires, hygiene and waste disposal, and traveling and camping in special environments.
- Facilitate your troop’s leadership in planning and leading an outing that emphasizes the complete set of Leave No Trace or Tread Lightly! principles. All members of the troop participating in the outing should use outdoor ethics and the specific skills to minimize impacts from their use of the outdoors.
- Help plan and participate in at least three outings where your troop can follow the Outdoor Code and practice the principles of Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly! Facilitate a discussion at the end of the outings.
- Assist your unit in arranging for a service project emphasizing outdoor ethics with a local landowner or land manager. The project must be approved by the landowner or land manager in advance. Participate in that project. The project should lead to permanent or long-term improvements.
- Make, or facilitate youth in making, a presentation at a roundtable or similar gathering about what your troop did for Requirement 4.
- Help at least three Scouts earn the youth Outdoor Ethics Action Award.
Venturing Advisor Action Award Requirements
- Do the following:
- Earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award.
- Complete the BSA outdoor ethics orientation course.
- Participate in a discussion with your crew of how each of the four points of the Outdoor Code guides your actions when outdoors.
- Do the following:
- Read the North American Skills & Ethics booklet to learn about the principles of Leave No Trace . Review the principles of Tread Lightly! Review Fieldbook chapters about Leave No Trace, using stoves and campfires, hygiene and waste disposal, and traveling and camping in special environments. Review the discussion of Leave No Trace in the Ranger Guidebook, and the foreword and chapters on Conservation Aesthetic, Wilderness, and Land Ethic in A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Explain in your own words what Leopold meant when he stated, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise.”
- Serve as an Advisor for your crew in an activity that explores differing ethical viewpoints using materials from Scouting’s outdoor ethics page, Leave No Trace , or Tread Lightly!
- Complete one of the following:
- Become a Leave No Trace Trainer or Tread Lightly! TREAD Trainer.
- Advise your crew’s leadership in planning and leading an outing that emphasizes the complete set of Leave No Trace or Tread Lightly! principles. All members of the crew participating in the outing should use outdoor ethics and the specific skills to minimize impacts from their use of the outdoors.
- Advise your crew’s planning and participation in at least three outings where your crew can follow the Outdoor Code and practice the principles of Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly! Participate in a discussion at the end of the outings.
- Advise your Venturers in arranging for a service project and educational campaign emphasizing outdoor ethics with a local landowner or land manager responsible for an outdoor recreational area or habitat that your crew uses and/or enjoys. The project must be approved by the land owner or manager in advance. Participate in that project. The project should lead to permanent or long-term improvements.
- Advise your Venturers in the completion of a traditional or social media event to educate the general public on the importance of protecting the area addressed in Requirement 5 and how they can help.
- Help at least three Venturers earn the youth Outdoor Ethics Action Award.
The Action award isn’t just a personal achievement. It contributes to a larger ethos of responsible outdoor behavior within the Scouting community and beyond. You’re not just bettering yourself; you’re setting an example for your peers and contributing to a culture of stewardship.
What comes next after earning the Action award? This isn’t a “collect and forget” sort of accolade. Instead, it serves as a catalyst for ongoing engagement. You’re encouraged to continue applying and sharing your knowledge, perhaps even helping others on their path to earning these recognitions.
The Outdoor Ethics Action award serves as a testament to your ability to apply ethical considerations in real-world outdoor scenarios. It’s not just another patch on your uniform; it’s a symbol of your commitment to doing your part in taking care of our shared outdoor spaces.
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