Investigate environmental issue

As a First Class candidate, your leadership expands to environmental stewardship. Requirement 9b asks you to investigate an environmental issue affecting your local community, share your findings in a presentation to your patrol or troop, and propose actionable solutions.

Step 1: Identifying a Real Local Environmental Issue

Choose a specific, tangible issue in your geographic area rather than a broad, global concept:

Common Local Environmental Topics

• Watershed & Water Quality: Stormwater runoff carrying pesticides, lawn fertilizers, and road salt into local creeks, rivers, or reservoirs; algal blooms causing fish kills.
• Invasive Species Outbreaks: Non-native plants (such as kudzu, English ivy, Japanese knotweed, garlic mustard) or aquatic organisms (zebra mussels, hydrilla, snakehead fish) outcompeting native wildlife.
• Habitat Loss & Stream Bank Erosion: Overdevelopment removing vegetative buffers along streams, causing bank collapse and sediment pollution.
• Waste Management & Recycling: Contamination in local municipal recycling streams, illegal dumping in open spaces, or shrinking landfill capacity.
• Air Quality & Wildfire Management: High ozone alerts in urban centers or accumulated forest debris increasing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in nearby woodlands.

Step 2: Investigating the Issue

Go beyond a quick internet search to gather firsthand local facts:

• Consult Local Experts: Interview a county agricultural extension agent, state park ranger, watershed manager, environmental science teacher, or municipal stormwater engineer.
• Review Local Public Data: Look at city or county water quality reports, local conservation district newsletters, or town hall meeting minutes.
• Field Observation: If safe and accessible, visit the affected park, creek, or natural area to take photographs and observe the conditions directly.

Step 3: Structuring Your Presentation to Your Troop or Patrol

Prepare a concise, engaging 3- to 5-minute presentation for an upcoming troop meeting or patrol gathering:

Presentation Outline

1. The Issue & Location: What is the problem, and where is it happening in our community?
2. The Root Causes: What human actions or environmental factors are driving the issue?
3. The Local Impact: How does this affect native wildlife, water supplies, public health, or outdoor recreation?
4. Actionable Solutions: What specific steps can be taken?

Step 4: Proposing Solutions (Individual & Community Level)

A complete presentation must propose practical solutions:

• What You and Your Troop Can Do:
  • Organize a conservation service project (e.g., planting willow saplings along an eroded creek bank, participating in a river clean-up, or removing invasive vines).
  • Adopt water-conservation or eco-friendly practices at home and during troop campouts.
• What Your Community Can Do:
  • Upgrade municipal stormwater drain filtration.
  • Implement community education on responsible fertilizer and pesticide use.
  • Establish protected greenway corridors and buffer zones along waterways.