Wilderness Survival Merit Badge

Overview

In their outdoor activities, Scouts learn to bring the clothing and gear they need, to make good plans, and do their best to manage any risks. But now and then, something unexpected happens. When things go wrong, the skills of wilderness survival can help make everything right again.

Requirements

(1) Do the following:
- (a) Explain to your counselor the hazards you are most likely to encounter while participating in wilderness survival activities, and what you should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, or lessen these hazards.
- (b) Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses likely to occur in backcountry settings, including hypothermia, heat reactions, frostbite, dehydration, blisters, insect stings, tick bites, snakebites.
(2) From memory list the seven priorities for survival in a backcountry or wilderness location. Explain the importance of each one with your counselor.
(3) Describe ways to avoid panic and maintain a high level of morale when lost, and explain why this is important.
(4) Describe the steps you would take to survive in the following exposure conditions:
- (a) Cold and snowy
- (b) Wet
- (c) Hot and dry
- (d) Windy
- (e) At or on the water.
(5) Put together a personal survival kit and be able to explain how each item in it could be useful.
(6) Using three different methods (other than matches), build and light three fires.
(7) Do the following:
- (a) Show five different ways to attract attention when lost.
- (b) Demonstrate how to use a signal mirror.
- (c) Describe from memory five ground-to- air signals and tell what they mean.
(8) Improvise a natural shelter. For the purpose of this demonstration, use techniques that have little negative impact on the environment. Spend a night in your shelter.
(9) Explain how to protect yourself from insects, reptiles, bears, and other animals of the local region.
(10) Demonstrate three ways to treat water found in the outdoors to prepare it for drinking.
(11) Show that you know the proper clothing to wear while in the outdoors during extremely hot and cold weather and during wet conditions.
(12) Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation.

Resources

Note: This is an unofficial archive of Scouts BSA Merit Badges that was automatically extracted from the Scouting America website and may contain errors.