The National Outdoor Awards program recognizes Scouts for some above-average participation in challenging outdoor activities. A combination of merit badges, rank, and activities qualify Scouts for hiking, aquatics, camping, adventure and riding awards.
Has anyone out there applied for these awards on behalf of their Scouts or otehr wise participated in this relatively new award scheme? I’d like to hear about your experiences.
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We had two scouts apply. It took two tries for the scout center to understand what they were applying for since no one else in the area had put in for it.
We’ve had several Scouts earn their Camping, Adventure and Hiking segments with Gold devices. Right now we have a question in with National to find out if the Silver devices come at 100 or 125 nights of camping, 200 or 300 miles hiking, etc.
Also, we’ve noticed the requirements for the Aquatics segment seem much more demanding than any of the other four areas–2 Eagle required merit badges PLUS Mile Swim PLUS a watercraft merit badge AND 25 hours on-water time, along with another 25 (for a total of 50) hours on/in-water time. Most other areas require a couple merit badges and then time spent in that area’s activity. Seemed a bit of overkill, comparatively, for the Aquatics segment to us.
I’ve been working on the camping one. I have 55 nights so far, and I’m planning on finishing the merit badges for it next summer.
We awarded these at the most recent Court of Honor.
I’m struggling to understand the purpose of these awards. They were earned by older Scouts who don’t have any room left on their uniform. The requirements are complicated, so it isn’t obvious what the patch means. Also, the rockers don’t seem equivalent. Ten high adventure activities but only 25 nights camping? Is this Venturing-lite? Plus, the patch seems busy with loud colors. It is hard to read if you aren’t familiar with it.
Compare this to the Scouts Australia camping and walkabout (hiking) patches. A small square patch with a tent or a hiker and a number. A glance at a uniform and you know that Scout has 100 nights camping and a 150 km of hiking.