Earning the Hornaday Badge or Medals for Scouts
Scouts, Varsity Scouts, or Venturers may earn the Hornaday Badge and Medals. All scout awards require the scout to earn certain merit badges from the following 20 conservation and environmental management merit badges. Scouts thinking about earning a Hornaday Badge or Medal should immediately do two things:
1. Read the Hornaday Badge Handbook. It can be downloaded by clicking here.
2. Contact the Hornaday Committee Project Counselor to discuss the process and be assigned a Hornaday Advisor. The current Project Counselor is Ron Luke. Telephone: 512.371.8166. Email: rluke@rpcconsulting.com.
The same project can meet the requirements for the Eagle rank requirement and the Hornaday Badge. However, the minimum requirements for an acceptable Hornaday project greatly exceed the current minimum requirements for an Eagle project. Also a Hornaday project requires the scout to have more advisors than does an Eagle project. Therefore it is better for all concerned if the scout is involved in the Hornaday process at the planning stage of the project.
Hornaday Scout Awards
Hornaday Badge. To earn the Hornaday Badge, scouts must earn three Merit Badges from Group I, two Merit Badges from Group II, and plan, lead, and carry out one conservation project
Hornaday Bronze Medal. Scouts need to earn four Merit Badges from Group I and two Merit Badges from Group II. One of the four Merit
Badges from Group I must be Environmental Science. The Scout must also plan, lead, and carry out three substantial conservation projects, each from a different category. There are no limits on the number of Bronze Medals awarded each year.
Hornaday Silver Medal. Scouts need to earn all six Merit Badges from Group I and three Merit Badges from Group II. The Scout must also plan, lead, and carry out four substantial conservation projects, each from a different category. The number of Silver Medals awarded each year is limited to six. A Scout who applies for the Silver Medal but fails to receive it may receive the Bronze Medal instead.
Hornaday Merit Badges
Group I
Energy
Environmental Science
Fish and Wildlife Management
Forestry
Public Health
Soil and Water Conservation
Group II
Bird Study
Fishing
Fly Fishing
Gardening
Geology Insect Study
Landscape Architecture
Mammal Study
Nature
Nuclear Science
Oceanography
Plant Study
Pulp and Paper
Reptile and Amphibian Study
Weather
Hornaday Projects
Scout awards also require the scout to carry out one or more conservation projects. Acceptable projects fall in one of eight categories:
§ Air and Water Pollution Control
§ Energy Conservation
§ Fish and Wildlife Management
§ Forestry and Range Management
§ Hazardous Materials and Waste Disposal
§ Invasive Species Control
§ Resource Recovery
§ Soil and Water Conservation
Additional Requirements for Venturers
Venturers applying for the Hornaday Badge or Medals may earn the merit badges or may complete alternative requirements. A Venturer who began working on his project as a Boy Scout may count merit badges when applying. In place of merit badges, Venturers must complete the Ecology and Plant and Wildlife requirements for the Venturing Ranger Award.
In addition to the project documentation required on all Hornaday projects, a Venturer must provide specific information on:
§ The research performed in connection with the conservation projects undertaken. The relevant research must be cited at the appropriate location in the conservation project documentation. A bibliography must be provided that lists sources cited. The bibliography must be formatted according to established standards.
§ The applicant’s entire Hornaday effort. This evaluation, included in the application packet in Appendix A, should contain information on alternatives considered for each project and an explanation of why each specific conservation project was selected, procedures used, processes used, staffing levels used, funding requirements, and so on.
§ The lessons learned. Included in the report in Appendix B, this details what the applicant, in hindsight, would do differently on each project. The section should include recommended changes in project selection; procedures, processes, and staffing levels used; funding requirements; and evaluations of project effectiveness over time.
Scouts, Varsity Scouts, or Venturers may earn the Hornaday Badge and Medals. All scout awards require the scout to earn certain merit badges from the following 20 conservation and environmental management merit badges. Scouts thinking about earning a Hornaday Badge or Medal should immediately do two things:
1. Read the Hornaday Badge Handbook. It can be downloaded by clicking here.
2. Contact the Hornaday Committee Project Counselor to discuss the process and be assigned a Hornaday Advisor. The current Project Counselor is Ron Luke. Telephone: 512.371.8166. Email: rluke@rpcconsulting.com.
The same project can meet the requirements for the Eagle rank requirement and the Hornaday Badge. However, the minimum requirements for an acceptable Hornaday project greatly exceed the current minimum requirements for an Eagle project. Also a Hornaday project requires the scout to have more advisors than does an Eagle project. Therefore it is better for all concerned if the scout is involved in the Hornaday process at the planning stage of the project.
Hornaday Scout Awards
Hornaday Badge. To earn the Hornaday Badge, scouts must earn three Merit Badges from Group I, two Merit Badges from Group II, and plan, lead, and carry out one conservation project
Hornaday Bronze Medal. Scouts need to earn four Merit Badges from Group I and two Merit Badges from Group II. One of the four Merit
Badges from Group I must be Environmental Science. The Scout must also plan, lead, and carry out three substantial conservation projects, each from a different category. There are no limits on the number of Bronze Medals awarded each year.
Hornaday Silver Medal. Scouts need to earn all six Merit Badges from Group I and three Merit Badges from Group II. The Scout must also plan, lead, and carry out four substantial conservation projects, each from a different category. The number of Silver Medals awarded each year is limited to six. A Scout who applies for the Silver Medal but fails to receive it may receive the Bronze Medal instead.
Hornaday Merit Badges
Group I
Energy
Environmental Science
Fish and Wildlife Management
Forestry
Public Health
Soil and Water Conservation
Group II
Bird Study
Fishing
Fly Fishing
Gardening
Geology Insect Study
Landscape Architecture
Mammal Study
Nature
Nuclear Science
Oceanography
Plant Study
Pulp and Paper
Reptile and Amphibian Study
Weather
Hornaday Projects
Scout awards also require the scout to carry out one or more conservation projects. Acceptable projects fall in one of eight categories:
§ Air and Water Pollution Control
§ Energy Conservation
§ Fish and Wildlife Management
§ Forestry and Range Management
§ Hazardous Materials and Waste Disposal
§ Invasive Species Control
§ Resource Recovery
§ Soil and Water Conservation
Additional Requirements for Venturers
Venturers applying for the Hornaday Badge or Medals may earn the merit badges or may complete alternative requirements. A Venturer who began working on his project as a Boy Scout may count merit badges when applying. In place of merit badges, Venturers must complete the Ecology and Plant and Wildlife requirements for the Venturing Ranger Award.
In addition to the project documentation required on all Hornaday projects, a Venturer must provide specific information on:
§ The research performed in connection with the conservation projects undertaken. The relevant research must be cited at the appropriate location in the conservation project documentation. A bibliography must be provided that lists sources cited. The bibliography must be formatted according to established standards.
§ The applicant’s entire Hornaday effort. This evaluation, included in the application packet in Appendix A, should contain information on alternatives considered for each project and an explanation of why each specific conservation project was selected, procedures used, processes used, staffing levels used, funding requirements, and so on.
§ The lessons learned. Included in the report in Appendix B, this details what the applicant, in hindsight, would do differently on each project. The section should include recommended changes in project selection; procedures, processes, and staffing levels used; funding requirements; and evaluations of project effectiveness over time.
