Wilderness Survival Merit Badge
April 20, 2010
The Details
Date: April 30 – 2 May
Place: Kensington
Time: Leave Friday afternoon
Requirement #1
• 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, and snakebites.
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
2. First Aid
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
3. Shelter
2. First Aid
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
2. First Aid
3. Shelter
4. Fire
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
2. First Aid
3. Shelter
4. Fire
5. Signaling
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
2. First Aid
3. Shelter
4. Fire
5. Signaling
6. Water
Requirement #2
• From memory, list the seven priorities for
survival in a backcountry or wilderness
location. Explain the importance of each
one with your counselor.
1. Positive Mental Attitude
2. First Aid
3. Shelter
4. Fire
5. Signaling
6. Water
7. Food
Requirement #3
• Describe ways to avoid panic and
maintain a high level of morale when
lost, and explain why this is important.
Requirement #4
• Describe the steps you would take to
survive in the following conditions:
• A) Cold and Snowy
• B) Wet (forest)
• C) Hot and Dry (desert)
• D) Windy (mountains or plains)
• E) Water (ocean, lake or river)
Requirement #5
• Put together a personal survival kit
and explain how each item in it could
be useful.
Signaling (Whistle, Mirror, Emergency Blanket)
Emergency Devices (Knife, Fire starters, Compass, Fishing line)
Medical (Small first aid kit)
Water and Food (Energy bar, Water purification, fish hooks)
Other (Tape, cord, sewing kit, thread, pencil, paper)
Requirement #6
• Using three different methods (other
than matches), build and light three
fires.
Requirement #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-toair signals and tell what they mean.
Requirement #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.
Requirement #9
• Explain how to protect yourself from
insects, reptiles, and bears.
Requirement #10
• Demonstrate three ways to treat water
found in the outdoors to prepare it for
drinking.
Requirement #11
• Show that you know the proper
clothing to wear in your area on an
overnight in extremely hot weather and
in extremely cold weather.
Requirement #12
• Explain why it usually is not wise to
eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a
wilderness survival situation.
Next Steps
• Fill out merit badge application form
• Review requirements
• Build your wilderness survival kit before the
campout and have it approved
• Turn in your homework. We will complete numbers
6,7,8,10 on the campout
Wilderness Survival Stations
Water
Purification
Fire Starting
First
Aid
•Lighters
•Electricity
•Chemical
•1st Class Req’s
•Water proof matches
•Magnification
•Filtration
•Dr. Long
•Metal match/spark
•Boiling
•Flint & steel
Signaling
Shelter
•Light or reflecting
•Shadows
•Instant, Natural, Constructed
•Fire
•Flags
•Materials
•Smoke
•Noise
•Techniques
•Ground-to-air
•Contrasting colors/shapes
Wilderness Survival Timetable
• 7:00 am
Wake up
• 7:30 am
Breakfast
• 9:00 am
Begin stations
• Noon
Lunch
• 1:30 pm
Stations complete; Begin shelters
• 3:30 pm
Shelters complete
• 5:30 pm
Dinner
• 8:00 pm
Campfire
• 10:00 pm
Lights out