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Hornaday Award => Distinguished Conservation Service Award


Summitdog

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For more than a century, the BSA has encouraged and honored conservation work with an award that recognizes youth, adults and organizations who have demonstrated tremendous effort and commitment to the environment. This award, which until now had been known as the William T. Hornaday Award, is being discontinued, and the new BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award is being introduced to underscore the importance of encouraging everyone to participate in environmental stewardship.
The new BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award will continue to recognize the conservation efforts of Scouts, Venturers, Sea Scouts, adult volunteers, and other individuals, corporations, and institutions that contribute significantly to natural resource conservation and environmental protection. It has been streamlined and modernized to build on the extraordinary contributions made by all the dedicated award recipients to date, and we believe the changes will help make these important efforts even more accessible for today’s members.
The BSA continuously looks for opportunities to improve our programs and awards as part of our efforts to strengthen the Scouting experience for all. As part of the BSA’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we are in the process of reviewing our programs, names of camps, awards and other aspects to ensure each component models our commitment because there is no place for racism or discrimination– not in Scouting and not in our communities. As we reviewed the William T. Hornaday Award, which recognizes conservation and environmental service, the BSA uncovered issues with Dr. Hornaday that go against the BSA’s values, and we determined that, given this information, the conservation award should no longer bear his name in order to uphold our commitment against racism and discrimination.
Effective immediately, the Boy Scouts of America is transitioning conservation recognition to the new BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award. The change in the award going forward does not in any way diminish the impactful conservation efforts taken on by Scouts, volunteers, and organizations over many years as part of the previous awards program. Their efforts have made important and positive differences in their communities and remain among the proudest bodies of work in Scouting.
For those who have earned a Hornaday award prior to this change, the legacy award can now be referred to as the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award. Although we are unable to replace medals or badges earned by previous award recipients, replacement certificates can be requested.
For those that have submitted or are currently working on a Hornaday award or project, the new award program outlines a path to transition to the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award. Bronze or Silver award distinctions will be used temporarily for individuals whose efforts were already submitted or underway under the previous award program. For all others, the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award will stand on its own as the organization’s highest award for conservation and environmental service.
More information on the new awards program will be available on the BSA’s outdoor programs webpage at www.scouting.org/outdoorprograms.
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8 hours ago, Summitdog said:

It has been streamlined and modernized to build on the extraordinary contributions made by all the dedicated award recipients to date, and we believe the changes will help make these important efforts even more accessible for today’s members.

Does anyone have any inside insight into what this means?  I have a Scout who is a couple weeks away from starting to plan her Eagle project, which she wanted to be Hornaday eligible as well.

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1 minute ago, BAJ said:

Does anyone have any inside insight into what this means?  I have a Scout who is a couple weeks away from starting to plan her Eagle project, which she wanted to be Hornaday eligible as well.

Details to be released November 1.

Quote

For those that have submitted or are currently working on a Hornaday award or project, the new award program outlines a path to transition to the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award. Bronze or Silver award distinctions will be used temporarily for individuals whose efforts were already submitted or underway under the previous award program.

For all others, the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award will stand on its own as the organization’s highest award for conservation and environmental service.

More information on the new awards program, including details about how you can participate will be available here on November 1, 2020.

 

Edited by CynicalScouter
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  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/14/2020 at 10:09 AM, RememberSchiff said:

I hope Hornaday's conservation work was reviewed and also a factor.

https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2011/11/11/142211950/what-not-to-do-when-you-meet-the-last-great-wild-buffalo

IMHO, the award should have been renamed for Teddy Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and dedicated conservationist. 

My $0.02,

Don't forget first, and only(?) Chief Scout Citizen. 

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On 10/14/2020 at 9:09 AM, RememberSchiff said:

IMHO, the award should have been renamed for Teddy Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and dedicated conservationist. 

Teddy Roosevelt?  Nope.  He's out too.   https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/21/teddy-roosevelt-legacy-100-years

I get tired watching history being erased.  We should just stop naming things after people.  People are flawed.  ... except Jimmy Stewart.  That guy was cool.

The conversation movement did not just happen on it's own.  People advanced it.  Hornaday was a focal point.  ... 

IMHO ... It's okay to celebrate an achievement without being interpreted as saying the man was perfect.   Change the award.  Fine.  It's just a sad thing to watch.  

 

 

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So award people but not to the extent of naming awards after them...unless they Nobelly donate significant treasure towards that honor?  :confused:

Might be an interesting spin to ask a Scout during Scoutmaster Conference - do you feel you earned this to the extent that you own it, this award hereafter will be called the  (Scout name here) award?

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I'm very disappointed that they didn't keep the same award structure which allowed for a badge for adults and also a certificate for units. Those are the two things I wanted my pack and I to work toward.

If this Hornaday name was the issue, all they had to do was remove the name. I think the rest of the program was OK.

Jeremy

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On 11/11/2020 at 10:00 AM, jeremyschultz said:

which allowed for a badge for adults and also a certificate for units

You must not have followed the links. There is still an adult award. The unit award was odd to me as it didn't seem to fit in. They are saying units should earn the Conservation Good Turn certificate, which already existed. https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/conservation-and-environment/conservation-good-turn/

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