Boy Scout wilderness survival Merit Badge

Ok so im still an very active member in BoyScouts since tigercubs to
Eagle Scout. So i was thinking of teaching wilderness survival merit badge and Emergency Preparedness and try and so them both together since thay both seem to go together. But i would like your guys imput on some ideas to add to it that thay dont cover that i think boys should know and have a lil bit better understanding be ready for a SHTF event/ so her are the REQUIREMENTS that thay have to do to get the badge for wilderness survival

1. Show that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses likely to occur in backcountry outings, including hypothermia, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, frostbite, dehydration, sunburn, stings, tick bites, snakebite, and blisters

2. Describe from memory the priorities for survival in a backcountry or wilderness location.

3. Describe ways to
A. avoid panic and
B. maintain a high level of morale when lost

4.Tell what you would do to survive in the following environments:
A. Cold and snowy
B. Wet (forest)
C. Hot and dry (desert)
D. Windy (mountains or plains)
E. Water (ocean or lake)

5.Make up a personal survival kit and be able to explain how each item in it is useful
6.Show that you can start fires using three methods other than matches
7.Do the following:
A. Tell five different ways of attracting attention when lost.
B. Show how to use a signal mirror.
C. Describe from memory five international ground-to- air signals and tell what they mean

8.Show that you can find and improvise a natural shelter minimizing the damage to the environment.
9.Spend a night in your shelter.
10. Explain how to protect yourself against insects, reptiles, and bears
11.Show three ways to treat water found in the outdoors to prepare it for drinking
12. Show that you know the proper clothing to wear in your area on an overnight in extremely hot weather and extremely cold weather.
13.Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation

ok that is just for wilderness survival Merit Badge so i leave it at that for now and post the REQUIREMENTS for Emergency Preparedness soon let me know what u think and anything i should add to my course and rember thay only have to do the stated above to get the badge

 

A couple of things I notice missing are containers and navigation. If they are haveing to survive in the wilderness then there is always the chance they forgot to tell anyone where they would be, ended up far from wherethey planned to be or didnt plan to be there in the first place (i.e. car went into water in the midle of nowhere on a trip so even if destination and route were known no way to know they are in that area to have searchers there) and so waiting for rescue may not be a viable option. In a case like this they cant just build a camp near water and stay put and so will need to know how to get someplace and rescue themselves, thus the navigation, and to travel they need containers. You dont want to take off into unknown terain hopeing to find more water before you need a drink and so have to be able to carry at least a days supply of water and if your in an area where there arent a lot of cans and bottles tossed out then you need to be able to make container to carry water, its also very helpful to be able to carry things like tools, food, tender and suplies for fire starting, etc. Tool makeing would also seem to be missing. If they are for some reason caught with no emergency kit or basic tools like a knife and such then basic flint knapping and such could be nearly escential to be able to carry out other needed tasks.

I also have to ask, whats up with "13.Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation"? I can understand not eating wild berries and such if you dont know for sure what they are but if its fresh there isnt much in the way of meat of fish thats toxic and food is escential so why would they advise against eating whats available if its known to be safe?

Since I figure food is important I would also figure foraging and trapping would be important, things like what are some wide spread commonly found plantsa that are easy to recognize and known to be safe, like cat tails, some nuts and so on as well as how to set deadfalls with wilderness materials as well as snares and such and how to make and use fish traps, gourge hooks and so on.

Its important to know how to pack and emergency kit, how to use it and to have it at hand all the time, but IMO its also just as important to know how to get by even if you are somehow seperated from your gear and survive without it. Some wilderness medicine may be useful as well, things like willow bark for a pain releaver, charcoal from the fire for diareah or injested toxins, and so on.

 

ok this what was in the book about wild plants "while there are many kinds of esible plants growing wild, there are also some poisonous ones. the safeest way to learn to identify edible plants is have an expert teach you firsthand in the field." Now for First Aid learn alot thruout boyscouts. I do like the idea about dead falls and snares and it doe's say that you can find about snares and traps from other survival books. In Dec is when i plan to do the overtnight we have a 5nights and 6 day camp out in the end of dec from 26 till 31 in SE OKLA .

 

'Naked into the Wilderness' by John McPhearson has excelent info on snares and deadfalls from all natural materials that are easy to do and I know firsthand that they do work.

 

I'm with quig. As long as I ain't got a broke leg, I don't need to know as much if I have a map, or at least an idea where I am. I can use a stick and two rocks to find north, my watch will do the rest of it. Even if you have a GPS, the redundant backup system for that is in your head. GPS is a luxury, learn a map and compass as #1 survival skill.

 

thanks quiq i enjoy scouts very much and love to go camping every month with them when i can, anyways map and compass is also a big part in scouts but we just got 5 or 6 new scouts so that will be coming up very soon for them on there path to Eagle but in the Merit Badge book thay only talk about how to find south with a watch and how to find north with the big dipper but i have the newst 2002 Millitry survival book so ill use some stuff from there but i have a few other books to look thru

 

One of the best books I read when I was a child was 'My Side of the Mountain' by Jean Craighead George. I believe there are three books altogether in this series, though what the other two are called, I can't remember at the moment. I would suggest this highly as good reading. I have read it and the sequel, I just can't remember any of the woodsy stuff taught in it. I know there was useful info and at this day and age, it also has to have something to keep their attention. This book will do that. Well, my two cents are up. Gotta run.

 

If you get a chance go look up the books some time andtry some of the stuff in them. A lot of it either dont work at all or not very well, the main things I recall that Im thinking of is like the way it shows and tells to set snares and deadfalls. They can kind of be made to work but not well or easily. The stuff in 'Naked into the Wilderness' by John and Geri McPhearson works well and is a LOT easier to make and set and will work reliably.

 

map reading skills should include understanding conture lines. makes a big diffrence when your on foot and tired.how to make a bark bowl to boil water is useful also.filtration straws allow you to drink directly from any non-poisonous source and will fit in shirt pocket.

 

scouting is a GREAT way to transition couch potato kids into outdoorsmen

More importantly it teaches respect for all and reverence for God.

 

Navigation is a good thing and by Boy Scout age they should be ready and can handle it.

I am my oldest boys Webelo's leader, he will be going into Boy Scouts next February, this month I started just what you describe below, we covered first aid a few months ago and just brushed over it. I bought a simple "Survival kit" for each of them, nothing fancy but my boys are in 4th grade and have an attention span of about 7 minutes so it's little steps, this summer my plans are to do many overnight campouts where we can work on the details, from making shelter/Building fires (Bears fire starting kit is a big hit with them all, I had to fight to get the flint and steel back from them, see post from this winter) to locating water, navigation etc. depending on the age, start small and work your way up

 

As an Eagle scout I have to say that it gave me the knowledge to do what I am doing! I am damn pleased about it too!

 

My thought would be to have a Meterologist come give a class about types of cloud formations and weather. Navigation is another top one like Quig said. Around here weather changes very quickly and if you know the cloud types and what they usually mean you can make necessary adjustments to your actions.
I also had a old man tell me once you can tell how bad a storm is going to be by the activity or lack of activity of the birds. It has yet to fail me and putting that with the cloud formations it's saved me more often than not.

Take care Be safe Poacher.

 

Is there a survival outline, like this but more indepth, anywhere? Like a checklist of survival knowledge?