Conservation Exceptionalism - The William T Hornaday Awards for Boy Scouts

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=William_J_O'Brochta]William J O'Brochta
Background: The Boy Scouts of America offers myriad different awards and honors for participating Scouts. The most commonly recognized award is that of Eagle Scout. However, a less well-known set of honors has been established to recognize Scouts who provide distinguished service to the conservation movement. Established in 1914 by conservation giant Dr. William T. Hornaday, this group of awards seeks to reward Scouts who have completed large, Eagle sized conservation projects and numerous Merit Badges. Dr. Hornaday set a goal for the awards program by giving medals only to those individuals who demonstrated truly extraordinary work and effort. That is why since its inception, just over 1,000 Hornaday medals have been awarded. The Silver Medal is the highest possible conservation award in the Boy Scouts of America.
Who: Hornaday awards are not granted exclusively to Boy Scouts and many other individuals can find ways to participate. Scouts interested in earning a Hornaday award may be currently working on conservation related Merit Badges, an applicable Eagle project, or have time left in Scouting and are looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity. They must complete their work on the award before turning eighteen. Venturers should have begun work on their Ranger elective medal and must be under twenty-one. A unit (Pack, Troop, Team, Crew, Ship) is also eligible for a special award. Adult Scouters, individuals, and organizations may be nominated for their service to conservation.
Awards: For Scouts, there are three different levels of Hornaday awards. The Hornaday Badge is given to Scouts who plan and lead one conservation project and earn five conservation related Merit Badges. A Bronze Medal requires completion of six Merit Badges and three projects, while the Silver Medal dictates earning nine conservation related Merit Badges and completing four Eagle sized projects. Each project must be well documented and provide clear evidence of research into specific areas of conservation. A Hornaday Badge may be combined with an Eagle project, but the project should satisfy requirements for both awards. Units must engage at least sixty percent of active Scouts and adults in one conservation project before applying to get a Unit Award. Gold Badges and Gold Medals are granted to adult Scouters by nomination only. The Gold Badge recognizes regional level work in conservation over a period of three years, while the Gold Medal requires service in excess of twenty years and has only been awarded fifty times since its inception. Finally, for those not involved with Scouting but still committed to serving the conservation movement, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America can grant a Gold Certificate.
Projects: A Hornaday project must be a significant and lasting effort in natural resource conservation or environmental improvements. Each Hornaday project must be chosen from a list of different disciplines of conservation. Projects are encouraged at a Scout Reservation, but can be completed at many organizations. One can think of a Hornaday project as a larger-sized Eagle project. Typical Eagle projects take 100 to 200 hours to complete, while a Hornaday project should require more than 200 hours. The intent of a Hornaday project is to provide solid conservation related research and to educate others about the benefits of conservation.
Starting: Before starting to work on a Hornaday award, Scouts should contact their Council Conservation Committee Chairman. The Chairman will assign all Scouts or units a Conservation Advisor who will help decide on appropriate projects and make sure Hornaday application requirements are being met. Adult Scouters, individuals, and organizations, since their awards are all nomination based and no projects need to be completed, should alert their Conservation Committee Chairman about their interest in being given a Hornaday award. Self-nomination for these awards is, however, prohibited.
Time: A badge or unit award typically takes six months to complete; a Silver Medal may take up to three years. Timing all depends on the amount of effort a Scout decides to place on their Hornaday project. Depending on the award, either the Council Conservation Committee or National Hornaday Committee approves the award application. This process can add months to the completion time. Plus, there is no opportunity to appeal award rejections. Thus, make sure to submit the application well ahead of any age related deadlines.
Example: The following constituted a Hornaday Silver Medal and shows the scope and time required: earning twelve conservation related Merit Badges, completing a habitat restoration project at a middle school, starting an energy conservation program for Habitat for Humanity in Hungary, creating a public awareness campaign about laundry detergent phosphates, managing erosion control and planting native species project at a nearby lake, and developing lakebed stabilization and fish habitat restoration structures. From start to finish this example Silver Medal took three years and 1500 hours of effort to complete.
Resources: Further information about the William T. Hornaday Awards Program is available on the Boy Scouts of America website. There Scouts and adults can find more detailed descriptions of the required Merit Badges and projects as well as project categories. Application forms and audio recordings are also available. Contact your local District Executive for help finding out the Conservation Committee Chairman.
William O'Brochta is a recipient of the William T. Hornaday Silver Medal and William T. Hornaday Badge. He is an Eagle Scout with nine Eagle palms and has earned sixty-five Merit Badges. William is currently an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 17 in Roanoke, Virginia working with Troop elections, new Scout advancement, and Eagle projects. He also serves as an active member on the Blue Ridge Mountains Council Conservation, Advancement, Eagle Board of Review, and Troop Committees. He has been involved in Scouting for more than ten years.
William attends Patrick Henry High School and the Roanoke Valley Governor's School and is ranked first in his class of 500. Currently, he is working on a three-year environmental research project dealing with using plants to remove pesticides from the soil. He has presented this research at the Society of Toxicology Annual meeting. A musician, he plays trumpet and serves as Drum Major for the Marching Band.
Committed to community service, he has volunteered for six months for Habitat for Humanity in Hungary and helped Breakell, Inc. General Contractors achieve LEED energy efficiency certification.
William can best be contacted through his LinkedIn page: http://linkd.in/q8dXm0
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Conservation-Exceptionalism---The-William-T-Hornaday-Awards-for-Boy-Scouts&id=6442342] Conservation Exceptionalism - The William T Hornaday Awards for Boy Scouts