Choose Two Conservation Projects
7.
Do TWO of the following:
This requirement is where the badge becomes hands-on. You must choose exactly two options. Some options focus on visits and observation. Others focus on planting, mapping, restoration, or designing a project with your counselor.
Your Options
- Req 7a — Visit Two Conservation Sites: Tour real places such as treatment plants, managed forests, refuges, or research sites and write a report about the conservation practices you observe.
- Req 7b — Plant for a Purpose: Plant 100 trees, bushes, and/or vines where they will actually improve habitat, stabilize soil, provide shade, or serve another conservation goal.
- Req 7c — Seed a Conservation Plot: Restore a larger area by seeding grasses or legumes suited to erosion control, habitat improvement, or soil building.
- Req 7d — Map Soils with a Survey Report: Use a soil survey to read mapped soils, trace an area with several soil types, and connect map symbols to real land characteristics.
- Req 7e — Find and Fix Local Problems: Survey your neighborhood, camp, school, or park for erosion, sedimentation, or pollution problems and propose practical fixes.
- Req 7f — Design Your Own Conservation Project: Create or carry out another approved project that clearly protects soil or water.
How to Choose
Choosing Your Two Projects
Pick the pair that best fits your place, season, and available help
- Time available: Site visits and soil-map work can often be completed faster than planting or seeding projects, which may depend on season and follow-up care.
- Space and permissions: Planting and seeding require access to land and approval from whoever manages it. Visits and mapping may be easier if you do not control a site yourself.
- Physical work: Req 7b and 7c involve more labor. Req 7d and 7e lean more on observation, note-taking, and analysis.
- What you will gain: Req 7a builds field observation and report-writing skills; 7b and 7c build restoration experience; 7d builds map-reading and soil interpretation; 7e builds local problem-solving; 7f builds project design and initiative.
| Option | Best for Scouts who… | Main challenge |
|---|---|---|
| 7a | like tours, interviews, and report writing | arranging access to two sites |
| 7b | can organize volunteers and plant care | getting the right plants and location |
| 7c | have access to a restoration area | site prep, seed choice, and timing |
| 7d | enjoy maps and data | learning how soil surveys are organized |
| 7e | want to start close to home | identifying realistic fixes, not just complaints |
| 7f | have a strong original idea | getting counselor approval and setting clear goals |
7a
- Best for Scouts who…
- like tours, interviews, and report writing
- Main challenge
- arranging access to two sites
7b
- Best for Scouts who…
- can organize volunteers and plant care
- Main challenge
- getting the right plants and location
7c
- Best for Scouts who…
- have access to a restoration area
- Main challenge
- site prep, seed choice, and timing
7d
- Best for Scouts who…
- enjoy maps and data
- Main challenge
- learning how soil surveys are organized
7e
- Best for Scouts who…
- want to start close to home
- Main challenge
- identifying realistic fixes, not just complaints
7f
- Best for Scouts who…
- have a strong original idea
- Main challenge
- getting counselor approval and setting clear goals
If you want to start with the broadest menu of choices, begin with Req 7a. It helps you compare nine different kinds of conservation-related sites before choosing two to visit.