Scout Ahead https://www.scoutahead.org/plans/environmental-science-merit-badge

Environmental Science Merit Badge

The eleven requirements, with the six choices the badge offers and the two parts that need days rather than an afternoon.

12 steps (20 parts inside them). 18 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Environmental Science Merit Badge

No questions answered

This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 6 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.

Which of this applies to you

You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 6 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.

Answer the questions

The steps

Stage 1 of 9

1 step

1. Say what environmental science means, in your own words Task

Your own definition, and how you think science can be used to understand, conserve and improve the environment.

Stage 2 of 9

2 steps

2. Observe an ecosystem over two days Often forgotten Requirement

Everybody does this one, and it needs your counselor's approval before you start and two days once you have it.
2 parts
- 2(a). Watch, listen to and smell an approved area for two days Often forgotten Two things make this the requirement to start first. It needs your counselor to approve the area before you begin, and it needs a two-day period rather than a single visit. Everybody does this one (it is not behind any of the six choices), so it is on every Scout's path to the badge.
- 2(b). Write up what is living, not living, and formerly living Usually comes after 2(a). Watch, listen to and smell an approved area for two days.
11. Look at three careers in environmental science Task

Find three, pick one, and research the training, education, certification, experience and costs of entering it.

Stage 3 of 9

3 steps

3. Air pollution. Do one of three Requirement

A particulates experiment, a comparison of transport modes, or the Clean Air Act.
3 parts
- 3(a). Particulate matter, and an experiment to detect it Optional May not apply
- 3(b). Transport and air pollution, compared Optional May not apply
- 3(c). The Clean Air Act Optional May not apply
9. Investigate two invasive species Task

In your community or camp: where they came from, how they arrived, how they live and spread, and what they do here.
10. Work out the environmental impact of a construction project Task

The topics that would have to be addressed: building a house, adding a building at your Scout camp, or a project of your own that your counselor approves.

Stage 4 of 9

1 step

4. Water pollution. Do one of three Requirement

Your own water supply, a place that floods or dries out, or the Clean Water Act.
3 parts
- 4(a). Where your water comes from and goes Optional May not apply
- 4(b). A place that floods or suffers drought Optional May not apply
- 4(c). The Clean Water Act Optional May not apply

Stage 5 of 9

1 step

5. Land pollution. Do one of three Requirement

Chemicals on an approved area, erosion, or a Superfund site.
3 parts
- 5(a). Pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers on an approved area Optional May not apply
- 5(b). Erosion, and where the material goes Optional May not apply
- 5(c). A site on the EPA Superfund National Priority List Optional May not apply

Stage 6 of 9

1 step

6. Species at risk. Do one of three Requirement

One still endangered, one that recovered, or a habitat project visited in person.
3 parts
- 6(a). Research an endangered species in your state Optional May not apply
- 6(b). Research a species that recovered Optional May not apply
- 6(c). Visit a habitat project with a professional Optional May not apply

Stage 7 of 9

1 step

7. Conservation. Do one of three Requirement

Five savings practised for a week, resource recovery, or household hazardous waste. Only the first has a clock.
3 parts
- 7(a). Find five ways to save resources and practise two for a week Optional May not apply Often forgotten This route needs at least a week of actually practising two of your five conservation methods. If you are choosing requirement 7 in your last week, choose 7(b) or 7(c) instead, or better, decide requirement 7 at the start so the week runs while you do everything else.
- 7(b). Resource recovery, with ten items Optional May not apply
- 7(c). Five household items that become hazardous waste Optional May not apply

Stage 8 of 9

1 step

8. Pollination. Do one of three Requirement

Investigate it, watch it for an hour, or follow it into agriculture.
3 parts
- 8(a). Investigate pollination and list five pollinators Optional May not apply
- 8(b). Watch pollination happen for an hour Optional May not apply
- 8(c). Pollination and agriculture Optional May not apply

Stage 9 of 9

1 step

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 8. Pollination. Do one of three, 9. Investigate two invasive species and 10. Work out the environmental impact of a construction project.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.