# Scout Values & Sustainability Part of the Sustainability Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/sustainability/guide/index.md) *8. Scouting & Sustainability* > **8b.** Discuss with your counselor how living by the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code in your daily life helps promote sustainability. ## Scouting Values Are Sustainability Values You might not think of the Scout Oath and Scout Law as sustainability documents — but they contain ideas that align perfectly with living sustainably. This requirement asks you to make those connections explicit. ## The Scout Oath and Sustainability > *On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.* - **"Do my duty to my country"** — Part of that duty is protecting the land, water, and air that make life in this country possible. Sustainability is patriotic. - **"Help other people at all times"** — Sustainable practices help not only people alive today but future generations. Reducing waste, conserving water, and protecting ecosystems are all forms of helping others. - **"Keep myself physically strong"** — Clean air, clean water, and healthy food are necessary for physical health. Sustainability protects the conditions that keep people strong. - **"Mentally awake"** — Being aware of how your choices affect the environment and other people is exactly what sustainability requires. ## The Scout Law and Sustainability Each point of the Scout Law connects to sustainability: - **Trustworthy** — When you commit to sustainable practices, people can count on you to follow through - **Loyal** — Loyalty to your community means protecting its resources - **Helpful** — Helping others includes leaving them a healthy planet - **Friendly** — Building relationships across communities is key to social sustainability - **Courteous** — Respecting shared spaces and resources is an act of courtesy to everyone who uses them - **Kind** — Kindness extends to the natural world — treating animals, forests, and waterways with care - **Obedient** — Following environmental regulations and Leave No Trace principles - **Cheerful** — Approaching sustainability with a positive attitude inspires others to join in - **Thrifty** — "A Scout is thrifty" is one of the most direct connections to sustainability. Using resources wisely, avoiding waste, and making things last are both thrifty and sustainable. - **Brave** — Standing up for environmental protection, even when it is unpopular or inconvenient - **Clean** — Keeping the environment clean is just as important as personal cleanliness - **Reverent** — Reverence for creation motivates care for the natural world > **Did You Know?** > > The Scout Law point "A Scout is Thrifty" was included by Lord Baden-Powell in the original 1908 Scout Law. He defined it as: "He saves every penny he can, and puts it into the bank, so as to have money to keep himself when out of work, and thus not make himself a burden to others." Today, being thrifty extends to all resources — not just money. ## Leave No Trace Seven Principles The Leave No Trace principles are a direct guide to environmental sustainability in the outdoors — but they apply to daily life too: 1. **Plan Ahead and Prepare** — Planning meals reduces food waste. Planning trips reduces unnecessary driving. Planning purchases reduces impulse buying. 2. **Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces** — In daily life, this means using existing infrastructure and pathways rather than damaging new areas. 3. **Dispose of Waste Properly** — Recycling, composting, and reducing trash at home is the everyday version of packing out your garbage. 4. **Leave What You Find** — Respecting natural spaces, historical sites, and shared resources instead of taking or damaging them. 5. **Minimize Campfire Impacts** — Using energy efficiently and minimizing your environmental impact at home mirrors this principle. 6. **Respect Wildlife** — Supporting biodiversity, avoiding products that harm wildlife, and keeping pets under control. 7. **Be Considerate of Other Visitors** — In daily life, this means being a good neighbor — keeping noise down, maintaining shared spaces, and considering how your actions affect others. ## The Outdoor Code > *As an American, I will do my best to — Be clean in my outdoor manners, Be careful with fire, Be considerate in the outdoors, and Be conservation-minded.* The Outdoor Code's call to be **conservation-minded** is a direct charge to practice sustainability. Conservation — using resources wisely and protecting the natural world — is the heart of sustainability. > **Tip** > > For your counselor discussion, do not just list connections — give specific examples from your own life. "Being thrifty connects to sustainability because I started using a reusable water bottle instead of buying disposable ones" is more powerful than "A Scout is thrifty, and sustainability means being thrifty." ![A group of Scouts reciting the Scout Oath at a trailhead before a hike, with a Leave No Trace principles sign visible nearby](https://ik.imagekit.io/doulacoop/tr:w-800/mbu-assets/merit-badges/sustainability/guide/scout-oath-outdoors?v=c35e3514) [Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics](https://lnt.org/): The official Leave No Trace organization with educational resources, training programs, and guides for practicing outdoor ethics. Video: [Camping Tricks: The Scout Turn Around Rule LNT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc59VSGN-dg) --- - Previous: [Campout Observations](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/sustainability/guide/req8a/index.md) - Next: [Household Behavior Changes](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/sustainability/guide/req8c/index.md)