PATHFINDER OUTDOOR SKILLS #10
Identify four types of trees/shrubs in the area you camp or hike in.
This should be an easy requirement for the scout youth to achieve if your Troop is conducting
several camps and one day outdoor activities per scout year. If the Troop leaders know the Chief
Scout Requirements, then this requirement can be built into the camping and outdoor activities.
The challenging element of this requirement that our Troop leaders encountered was keeping the
youth focused on achieving this requirement at camp or on a one day hiking activity. We found that
once the youth were outdoors they always seem to be distracted with other outdoor distractions.
FIELD GUIDES
You will require field guides for this activity.
KEY INDENTIFICATION CRITERIA
To help the scout youth earn this requirement, the scout leaders prepared a Tree/Shrub
identification template which the youth could use. The template is available for you to use.
CHECKLIST AND FIELD GUIDE
TREE and SHRUB CHECKLIST: A list of common trees and shrubs is provided. The youth fill in
the gaps for the trees/shrubs they believe they have located and cross reference their notes
against a field guide for trees and shrubs.
CAMPS and ONE DAY OUTINGS
The youth were handed the template when they participated in a weekend camp or a one day
outdoor activity. The youth were encouraged to complete the requirements on the template and to
hand it back to the leaders at the end of activity. The leaders would then keep track of the
template and then hand it back out to the youth at the next outing.
SCHOOL TRIPS / FAMILY OUTINGS
Our Troop also allowed the scout youth to use school outings and family outings as a means of
earning this requirement, as long as a record of any identification were made and then handed into
to the scout leaders.
REQUIREMENT IS FOR TWO OUTINGS
This requirement can be earned if the youth participate in a minimum of two outings in which 4
Trees and Shrubs were identified.
REFERENCES
http://ontariotrees.com/main/species.php?id=2026
http://forestry.about.com/library/quiz/bl_leaf_id_quiz1.htm
http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/temp/leafid.htm
TIP:
Consider running these Pathfinder Outdoor Skills requirements at the same time:
#9:
Identify four wild birds and four mammals
#10: Identify four types of trees/shrubs
#11:
Identify four types of wild flowers
PATHFINDER OUTDOOR SKILLS #10
Identify four types of trees/shrubs in the area you camp or hike in.
SCOUT NAME: _____________________
TREE IDENTIFICATION
Needle Trees
Describe the
Bark
Ash
Apple
Aspen
Basswood
Birch
Butternut
Cedar
Chestnut
Balsom
Hemlock
Locust
Maple
Oak
Poplar
Sycamore
Walnut
Willow
OUTING: _____________________
Simple/Compound
Leaves
Type of seed
DATE: _________________
Describe the habitat
(Water/Sunny/shady)
Correct
(Y/N)
PATHFINDER OUTDOOR SKILLS #10
Identify four types of trees/shrubs in the area you camp or hike in.
TREE IDENTIFICATION
Needle Trees
Describe the
Bark
Eastern White
Pine
Lodgepole Pine
Common Juniper
Pitch Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinyon Pine
Red Pine
Giant Sequiia
Scotch Pine
Douglas Fir
Jack Pine
Balsom Fir
Tamarak
Eastern Hemlock
Eastern Redcedar
Black Spruce
White Spruce
Draw Leaf shape
Type of seed
Describe the habitat
(Water/Sunny/shady)
Correct
(Y/N)
PATHFINDER OUTDOOR SKILLS #10
Identify four types of trees/shrubs in the area you camp or hike in.
SCOUT NAME: _____________________
SHRUB IDENTIFICATION
Tree
Describe the
Bark
Blue Berry
Bladder Nut
Buckthorn
Chokecherry
Currant
Dogwood
Gooseberry
Hazel
Holly
Honeysuckle
Poison Ivy
Raspberry
Sumac
Rose
Winterberry
Blackberry
Willow
Yew
OUTING: _____________________
Draw Leaf shape
Type of seed
DATE: _________________
Describe the habitat
(Water/Sunny/shady)
Correct
(Y/N)
PATHFINDER OUTDOOR SKILLS #10
Identify four types of trees/shrubs in the area you camp or hike in.
ALTERNATE QUIZ FOR TREE/SHRUB IDENTIFICATION
This alternative quiz was popular with our scout youth. We did this tree/shrub identification
exercise at our weekend camps and it was quite popular.
Trees are identified through 4 criteria:
1. Leaf shape
2. Simple/Compound Leaf arrangement
3. Fruit/Seeds
4. Bark texture and color
Using these criteria, send the youth out to collect the following:
Six different types of tree leaves and at least one tree seed that allow you to identify the
following criteria as follows:






2 x Pine needles
2 x simple leaf
2 x Compound / opposite / alternate type of leaf arrangement
2 x Coniferous tree types (evergreen trees that have needles )
2 x Deciduous tree types (trees that lose leaves in winter)
Where possible describe the bark of the tree where you think the leaf came from
LEAF
Leaf
arrangement
(needle/Simple/other)
Describe the tree bark
Identify the tree
Leaf #1
Leaf #2
Leaf #3
Leaf #4
Leaf #5
Leaf #6
Seed #1
The youth and scout leaders then check the answers against a field guide to see if tree was
identified correctly.