Forestry

Description

In working through the Forestry merit badge requirements, Scouts will explore the remarkable complexity of a forest and identify many species of trees and plants and the roles they play in a forest’s life cycle.  They will also discover some of the resources forests provide to humans and come to understand that people have a very large part to play in sustaining the health of forests. 

Notes for Success:

• Scouts should get a copy of the latest printing of the Merit Badge Book and read it before the class. 

• Consider utilizing the WORKSHEET to document your activities and information learned prior to clinic as they must be presented to the counselor in writing / typing.

• Do prerequisites before the class.

SUPPLIES Scouts need to bring with them:

• Blue card signed on the front by the Scoutmaster.

• Notebook & pencil.

Prerequisites

• Req 1. Prepare a field notebook, make a collection, and identify 15 species of trees, wild shrubs, or vines in a local forested area. Write a description in which you identify and discuss the following:

  • • a. The characteristics of leaf, twig, cone, or fruiting bodies.

    • b. The habitat in which these trees, shrubs or vines are found.

    • c. The important ways each tree, shrub, or vine is used by humans or wildlife and whether the species is native or was introduced to the area. If it is not native, explain whether it is considered invasive or potentially invasive.

  • Req. 2c. Find and examine two types of animal, insect, or disease damage to trees. In the field notebook you prepared for requirement 1, identify the damage, explain how the damage was caused, and describe the effects of the damage on the trees. Photograph or sketch each example.

  • Req. 8. Visit one or more local foresters and write a brief report about the person (or persons). Or, write about a forester's occupation including the education, qualifications, career opportunities, and duties related to forestry.

Follow-up Homework:

• Any of the pre-requisites that are not done before class. 

• Anything not completed in class due to attending late or leaving early.