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Environmental Education Award Program - EPA/BSA


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Today U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Boy Scouts of America (BSA) CEO and President Roger C. Mosby signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the creation of an EPA/BSA special award to be awarded as part of a new environmental education awards and recognition program.

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The EPA-sponsored award will challenge Scouts to learn about, explore, and conserve the world around them as part of an awareness campaign to educate the public about EPA’s accomplishment during its first 50 years and develop the vision for the next 50 years. The program will also provide EPA with opportunities to educate BSA member councils and leadership about priority initiatives including Trash Free Waters, Winning on Reducing Food Waste, and Healthy Schools.

The program will introduce Scouts to the breadth of EPA’s involvement in environmental protection and conservation, combining a variety of disciplines including earth sciences, animal studies, outdoor activities, and public health. To receive the EPA award, Scouts must first receive merit badges in each of these four areas and participate in an environmental/public health community service project, totaling at least six hours, as part of an approved Scouting program. Scouts may complete required steps to earn the award between April 22, 2020 and December 31, 2021, at which time the MOU may be extended.

Will this replace Hornaday Awards?  :confused:

More at source link:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-boy-scouts-announce-collaboration-environmental-education-award-program-and-special

 

 

Edited by RememberSchiff
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1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

Will this replace Hornaday Awards?  :confused:

I doubt it. Notice this is a temporary thing with the option to extend based on EPA's 50th anniversary.

Also, I noticed that while there are a few older references to the awards, the main Hornaday page is now gone. https://www.scouting.org/awards/hornaday-awards

It was my understanding National planned on renaming the Hornaday, not replacing it.

This seems closer to a Nova/Supernova program.

Edited by CynicalScouter
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2 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Today U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Boy Scouts of America (BSA) CEO and President Roger C. Mosby signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the creation of an EPA/BSA special award to be awarded as part of a new environmental education awards and recognition program.

I'm fine with it so long as they don't require scouts to take a partisan opinion on disputed political issues such as global warming.

 

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2 hours ago, David CO said:

I'm fine with it so long as they don't require scouts to take a partisan opinion on disputed political issues such as global warming.

Global warming is already mentioned in Eagle Required: Environmental Science (although you can substitute Sustainability).

Edited by CynicalScouter
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4 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Will this replace Hornaday Awards?  :confused:

It does sound like a fair amount of overlap. The BSA has always been interested in the intersection of science and outdoors. I like science so I'm good with it. However, the Hornaday award was always an odd duck. The lowest level was do a conservation based eagle project and the highest was do four of them. It just competed with eagle too much.  So I'm curious about this one.

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5 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Today U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Boy Scouts of America (BSA) CEO and President Roger C. Mosby signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the creation of an EPA/BSA special award to be awarded as part of a new environmental education awards and recognition program.

...

The EPA-sponsored award will challenge Scouts to learn about, explore, and conserve the world around them as part of an awareness campaign to educate the public about EPA’s accomplishment during its first 50 years and develop the vision for the next 50 years. The program will also provide EPA with opportunities to educate BSA member councils and leadership about priority initiatives including Trash Free Waters, Winning on Reducing Food Waste, and Healthy Schools.

The program will introduce Scouts to the breadth of EPA’s involvement in environmental protection and conservation, combining a variety of disciplines including earth sciences, animal studies, outdoor activities, and public health. To receive the EPA award, Scouts must first receive merit badges in each of these four areas and participate in an environmental/public health community service project, totaling at least six hours, as part of an approved Scouting program. Scouts may complete required steps to earn the award between April 22, 2020 and December 31, 2021, at which time the MOU may be extended.

Will this replace Hornaday Awards?  :confused:

More at source link:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-boy-scouts-announce-collaboration-environmental-education-award-program-and-special

 

 

Not sure where you might get an idea of this replacing Hornaday.  Currently, from reading the announcement, it appears it is not yet a long-term award, though it could become one.  But I see nothing in the article that would suggest it replacing Hornaday.  If anything, it might become an additional qualifier in the Hornaday stable.  And we do not yet see if there will be a younger boy, Cub, award, or if the muli-level World Conservation Award will have any play in it.  Think positive and ask that the head of the EPA and the President earn the equivalency of the recognition.😇

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/18/2020 at 2:35 PM, David CO said:

I'm fine with it so long as they don't require scouts to take a partisan opinion on disputed political issues such as global warming.

 

I think what David really meant was "I'm fine with that as long as it requires scouts to understand genuine science and to not get sucked into inane political discussions that encourage ignorance or intolerance of informed scholars."

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