Final Schedule for MB Sessions

I am posting the final schedule for our offerings. I appreciate your patience and flexibility. We are still hoping to find an Astronomy instructor at this time.

Friday/Saturday Night 8PM Astronomy MB (?)

Saturday AM

• Insect Study MB
• Communication MB
• Geocaching MB

Saturday PM

• Public Speaking MB
• Geocaching MB
• Forestry MB
• Soil & Water MB

Saturday ALL DAY

• Wilderness Survival/Camping MB (FULL)
• Cooking MB (FULL)
• Animal Science MB
• First Aid MB

Prerequisites for Wilderness Survival MB

5. - Put together a personal survival kit and explain how each item in it could be useful.

Kit should include but is not limited to:
1. Knife (Bring Totin' Chip)
2. First aid kit
3. Water treatment (One or both: iodine tablets, filter)
4. Emergency blanket
5. Fire starter (At lest one: flint and steel, lighter, matches, magnifying glass)
6. Water bottle
7. Rope (30 ft.-ish)
8. Sewing kit
9. Compass and topographical map of area
10. Hand mirror 
11. Non-perishable trail food (Optional)

This kit should fit in a fanny pack or similar sized bag.

Prerequisites for Camping MB

5e. - Present yourself to your Scoutmaster with your pack for inspection. Be correctly clothed and equipped for an overnight campout.

8c. - Prepare a camp menu. Explain how the menu would differ from a menu for a backpacking or float trip. Give recipes and make a food list for your patrol. Plan two breakfasts, three lunches, and two suppers. Discuss how to protect your food against bad weather, animals, and contamination.

8d. - Cook at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner for your patrol from the meals you have planned for requirement 8c. At least one of those meals must be a trail meal requiring the use of a lightweight stove.


9. - Show experience in camping by doing the following:

1. Camp a total of at least 20 nights at designated Scouting activities or events. One long-term camping experience of up to six consecutive nights may be applied toward this requirement. Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched. If the camp provides a tent that has already been pitched, you need not pitch your own tent.
2. On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the following, only with proper preparation and under qualified supervision.
1. Hike up a mountain, gaining at least 1,000 vertical feet.
2. Backpack, snowshoe, or cross-country ski for at least 4 miles.
3. Take a bike trip of at least 15 miles or at least four hours.
4. Take a non-motorized trip on the water of at least four hours or 5 miles.
5. Plan and carry out an overnight snow camping experience.
6. Rappel down a rappel route of 30 feet or more.
3. Perform a conservation project approved by the landowner or land managing agency.

Update Cooking MB

The Cooking MB offering is now FULL.

Prerequisites for Cooking MB

3. Plan a menu for two straight days (six meals) of camping. Include the following:

1. A camp dinner with soup; meat, fish, poultry, or an appropriate substitute; two fresh vegetables; drink; and dessert. All are to be properly prepared. When preparing your menu, follow the nutritional guidelines set by the food pyramid.
2. A one-pot dinner. Use foods other than canned.
3. Using the menu planned for requirement 3, make a food list showing cost and amount needed to feed three or more boys.
4. List the utensils needed to cook and serve these meals.

4. Using the menu planned for requirement 3, do the following and discuss the process with your merit badge counselor:

1. Prepare and serve for yourself and two others, the two dinners, one lunch, and one breakfast. Time your cooking so that each course will be ready to serve at the proper time.
   The meals for this requirement may be prepared for different trips. They need not be prepared consecutively. Scouts working on this badge at summer camp should plan around food they can get at the camp commissary.
2. For meals prepared in requirement 4a for which a fire is needed, use a lightweight stove or build a low-impact fire. Include support for your cooking utensils from rocks, logs, or like material. The same fireplace may be used for more than one meal. Use a backpacking stove to cook at least one meal. (Where local regulations do not allow you to do this, the counselor may change the requirement to meet the law.)
3. For each meal prepared in requirement 4a, use safe food-handling practices. Dispose of garbage, cans, foil, paper, and other rubbish by packing them out and depositing them in a proper container. After each meal, clean up the site thoroughly.

5. Plan a menu for one day (three meals) or for four meals over a two-day period of trail hiking or backpacking. Include the following:

1. A breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a trail or backpacking trip where light weight is important. You should be able to store all foods used for several days without refrigeration. When preparing your menu, follow the nutritional guidelines set by the food pyramid.
   The meals for this requirement may be prepared for different trips. They need not be prepared consecutively. Scouts working on this badge at summer camp should plan around food they can get at the camp commissary.
2. Using the menu planned for requirement 5, make a food list showing cost and amount needed to feed three or more boys.
3. List the utensils needed to cook and serve these meals.
4. Figure the weight of the foods in requirement 4a.

Purchase and bring the food with you for these requirements!

Updated merit badge schedule

Here is the current schedule for the merit badge offerings. All sessions will be capped at 20 scouts per session. We have had some problems in scheduling instructors for the Fish and Wildlife Management and the Soil and Water Conservation. Our date for the experience conflicts with the state-wide Big Sweep Cleanup. Many of the instructors are tied up with this state-wide event. I am trying to schedule someone but at this time I am not going to show these badges. They will be half day offerings if we can get instructors.

 

UPDATE: First Aid instructor has been located.

Full Day offerings:

• Cooking MB (FULL)
• First Aid MB
• Wilderness Survival/Camping MB (FULL)
• Animal Science MB

Half-day offerings:

 

AM

• Geocaching MB
• Public Speaking MB
• Forestry MB
• Insect Study MB

PM

• Geocaching MB
• Communications MB
• Forestry MB
• Insect Study MB
• Soil & Water Conservation MB

Evening Offering:

• Astronomy MB (?) Friday/Saturday 8PM

Prerequisites for Public Speaking MB

Prerequisites for Public Speaking

Bring Public Speaking Workbook and Notebook with writing utensil.

Requirement #1 – Prepare a three to five minute speech to introduce yourself to the group. We will do this first with all in the course.

Requirement #2 – Prepare a three to five minute talk on a topic of your choice that includes body language and visual Aids.   Please prepare the speech and be prepared to use visual aides.  We will execute this once #1 is completed.

After requirement #2 is done, we will take a short break to get everyone ready for requirement #3 and #4.

Requirement #3 will be drawn from a hat.  Be prepared for anything!

Requirement #4 – Please collect and organize the information on your selected topic of interest.  Write an 8 to 10 minute speech about that topic, and be prepared to deliver it in a conversational way.

Requirement #5 – Show you know parliamentary procedure by leading a discussion or meeting according to accepted rules of order; or by answering questions on the rules of order.   The Merit Badge Counselor will have Jeopardy ready to go!

Prerequisites for Communications Merit Badge

Prerequisites for Communications Merit Badge

Requirements:  Communications Workbook and Notebook

Requirement #3 – Write a five-minute speech.

Please write your speech ahead of time.  You will be presenting your speech in front of the group.

Requirement #4 – Interview someone you know fairly well, like, or respect because of his or her position, talent, career or life experiences. Listen actively to learn as much as you can about the person. Then prepare and deliver to your counselor an introduction of the person as though this person were to be a guest speaker, and include reasons why the audience would want to hear this person speak. Show how you would call to invite this person to speak.

Requirement #7 – Create a brochure for your troop, class at school or other group.   Include at least one article and/or photograph or illustration.  There is not a minimal number of words required.

Prerequsitites for the Insect Study Merit Badge

All requirements for the Insert Study merit badge are listed at this link: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Insect_Study. Your prerequisite for this badge is to start the 4th, 5th and 7th requirements. We will be identifying insects are the Farm however, we may not get the total number done.

4. Do the following:

a. Observe 20 different live species of insects in their habitat. In your observations, include at least four orders of insects.

b. Make a scrapbook of the 20 insects you observe in 4a. Include photographs, sketches, illustrations, and articles. Label each insect with its common and scientific names, where possible. Share your scrapbook with your merit badge counselor.

5. Do the following:

a. From your scrapbook collection, identify three species of insects helpful to humans and five species of insects harmful to humans.

b. Describe some general methods of insect control. 

7. Raise an insect through the complete metamorphosis from its larval stage to its adult stage (e.g. raise a butterfly or moth from a caterpillar). * 


* Some insects are endangered species and are protected by federal or state law. Every species is found only in its own special type of habitat. Be sure to check natural resources authorities in advance to be sure that you will not be collecting any species that is known to be protected or endangered, or in any habitat where collecting is prohibited. In most cases, all specimens should be returned at the location of capture after the requirement is met. Check with your merit badge counselor for those instances where the return of these specimens would not be appropriate.

The scrapbook can be a spiral or composition notebook that would be used in school or you can get a true water-proof field notebook (pricy). You should begin your observations of 20 insects in that notebook and bring it to the camp with you. Should you have questions, please feel free to contact Norm Bedwell at chapmantrain@gmail.com or home phone 919 331-8055, office 919 531-1066 or cell 919 285-5864.

Prerequsitites for the Forestry Merit Badge

All requirements for the Forestry merit badge are listed at this link: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Forestry. Your prerequisite for this badge is to start the first requirement and complete as much as possible. We will be identifying several tree species at the Farm but we may not get to all 15 you will need:

1.    Prepare a field notebook, make a collection, and identify 15 species of trees, wild shrubs, or vines in a local forested area. Write a description in which you identify and discuss the following:

• The characteristics of leaf, twig, cone, or fruiting bodies
• The habitat in which these trees, shrubs or vines are found.
• The important ways each tree, shrub, or vine is used by humans or wildlife and whether the species is native or was introduced to the area. If it is not native, explain whether it is considered invasive or potentially invasive.

 

The field notebook can be a spiral or composition notebook that would be used in school or you can get a true water-proof field notebook (pricy). You should begin your collection and identification of 15 tree species in that notebook and bring it to the camp with you. There is a very good description of this requirement in the merit badge workbook at http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/c/cf/Forestry.pdf. Should you have questions, please feel free to contact Norm Bedwell at chapmantrain@gmail.com or home phone 919 331-8055, office 919 531-1066 or cell 919 285-5864.

Initial Information

Outdoor Merit Badge Experience

Weekend Camping & Outdoor Merit Badge University

You and your troop are invited to an outdoor merit badge experience!
 

October 4-6, 2013

Optimist Farm Property

2904 Optimist Farm Road, Apex, NC 27539

 

Arrival and Registration Friday, October 4, 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM

Leave Sunday, October 6 by 10:00 AM

How this event works:

Your troop will be responsible for your own troop's food, camp set-up, etc.  Arrival registration and camp set up will begin at 4:00 PM Friday. The first Astronomy Merit Badge session will start at 8:00 PM Friday. All sessions will begin after flag raising at 8:00 AM Saturday. Some sessions will have some requirements that need to be completed before arrival at the camp. Those pre-requisites will be released on this blog a month or so before the event. Questions can be directed to the Experience coordinator Norm Bedwell (H 919 331-8055, C 919 285-5864, W 919 531-1066). You can also comment on these blog posts. Feedback is a gift.

 

Merit Badges to be offered:

• Astronomy
• Animal Science
• Camping
• Communication
• Cooking
• First Aid
• Fish & Wildlife Management
• Forestry
• Geocaching
• Insect Study
• Nature
• Pioneering
• Public Speaking
• Soil & Water Conservation
• Veterinary Medicine
• Wilderness Survival

Registration: http://www.crew75.com
Registration Deadline: September 28th

Cost: $20 per Scout, $10 per Scouter (This cost covers the expense of renting the property, bathroom facilities and patches)

 

Sponsored by Venture Crew 75, Fuquay-Varina, NC, http://www.crew75.com

Tentative Schedule

Here is the tentative schedule for the Experience:

Friday 04 October 2013

• 4:00 - 8:00 PM - Arrival, Registration and Camp Setup.
• 8:00 PM - Astronomy--First session
• 9:30 PM - Cracker Barrel
• 11:00 PM - Lights out

Saturday 05 October 2013

• 6:30 AM - Reveille
• 7:30 AM - Flag Raising
• 8:00 AM - Morning Sessions begin
• 11:30 AM - Lunch
• 1:00 PM - Afternoon Sessions begin
• 5:30 PM - Supper
• 8:00 PM - Astronomy--Second session
• 11:00 PM - Lights out

Sunday 06 October 2013

• 6:30 AM - Reveille
• 7:30 AM - Flag Raising/Sunday Service
• 8:00 AM - Check out and Release