Environmental Science Merit Badge

Tips for Earning This Badge

• 1The field study requirement takes multiple outdoor sessions — plan it around a camping trip where you can observe an ecosystem over several days.
• 2Choose an ecosytem you can revisit. Consistency in location makes the observations more meaningful.
• 3The pollution experiments can be done at home with household materials — the pamphlet walks through each one clearly.
• 4This badge pairs well with Sustainability if you want to knock out both Eagle alternatives (though only one counts toward Eagle).
• 5Counselors want to see actual data and observations, not conclusions copied from a textbook — write down what you personally measured or noticed.
• 6A common pitfall: waiting for one big field trip instead of several shorter observation sessions spread out, which is what most of the requirements actually call for.