The Environmental Science merit badge has been a lot of fun to teach. In many ways, today’s activities were my favorite because they got us outdoors and we were able to visually see examples of local biodiversity, invasive species, erosion, and so much more. We concluded by discussing components of an environmental impact statement.
Today is the final post in the series highlighting the activities I have coordinated as the Environmental Science merit badge counselor for our local Boy Scout Troop.
Our Local Biodiversity
For requirement #5, we chose two outdoor study areas that are very different from one another (a nearby forested woodland and an area of the sand dune undergoing succession). In small groups, the scouts marked off a study area with flags and counted the number of species found within. They then estimate how much space was occupied by each species and the type and number of nonplant species observed.
After our visit to each area, they were directed to write a report that discusses the biodiversity and population density of the chosen study areas. I look forward to reading their work and discussing what they learned from this experience one-on-one.
Environmental Impact Statements
Requirement #6 of the merit badge requirements is a little vague.
Using the construction project provided or a plan you create on your own, identify the items that would need to be included in an environmental impact statement for the project planned.
I do not know what construction project to which is referred so I was a bit confused. In my opinion, a local real-life construction project would be best suited for this requirement as the boys would have real experience and prior knowledge.
I thereby opted to take the boys for a walk around our neighborhood by which we were able to do several things:
- visit a residential construction site and talk about the impact the housing development had on the local ecosystem (sand dune)
- view, from a short distance, the north spit where a liquified natural gas (LNG) pipeline terminal has been proposed
Locally, there has been a HUGE political battle in regards to the LNG whereupon we could visually see the north spit where a liquified natural gas (LNG) pipeline terminal has been proposed. Along the way, we also observed areas disturbed by construction and thus an abundance of invasive plant species, an open meadow-like area (generally shrubs of both native and invasive species and a variety of wild grasses) the city presumably mowed to reduce wildfire danger, and the site where a WW2 bunker had been removed (this greatly saddened us but I believe the local authorities did so due to fear of litigation).
When we returned home, we discussed the impact the residential construction had on the area as well as the proposed LNG terminal. I pulled up the final Environmental Impact Statement that was released to the public and we walked through components of it for quite some time. It is rather lengthy – over 200 pages – so I aimed to summarize and pull out the key components including:
- topographical maps
- proposed roads
- drafts of engineering plans for containment
- mitigation plans
The previous posts in this series have touched on the following topics:
Environmental Policy Timeline, Key Terms, & Pollination
How Species Respond to Environmental Changes & Endangered Species