Landscape architects design the outdoor places people use every day, like parks, playgrounds, and campuses. You'll visit a real project, learn some plants, and sketch ideas to make a space better. It's a mix of art, nature, and problem-solving.
Why it's worth it
Someone decided where the paths go in your favorite park, which trees shade the benches, and how rain drains off the playground. That person was probably a landscape architect. This badge teaches you to see outdoor spaces the way designers do: how people move through them, where they want to sit, and what makes a place feel welcoming. You'll draw a real site plan and suggest changes, a skill that can help with an Eagle project or a better school courtyard.
Start this week
- Visit a park or plaza you like this week and notice where people sit, walk, and gather, and where they don't.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Landscape Architecture counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Ask your counselor or a city parks department to suggest a completed project whose plan you can see for requirement 1.
- Pick five trees and five shrubs you pass every day and start learning their names.
Requirements · 5
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
- Requirement 1
Visit a finished landscape project designed by a landscape architect. Before you go, ask the landscape architect for a copy of the design plan, if there is one
Tip: Ask your counselor or a city parks department to suggest a park or plaza that has a plan you can look at while you walk around.
For example: Visit a neighborhood park with a copy of its plan. Walk the site and match what's on paper to what's on the ground: the path layout, the playground, the planted beds. Notice anything that changed after it was built.
- Requirement 2
Discuss the site you visited (after requirement 1)
Tips for this section: As you explore, notice where people sit, walk, and gather. Ask yourself what makes the space comfortable or uncomfortable.
Example for this section: Talk about how the space works: a shade structure over the benches, a curved path that slows people down, trees placed to block wind, and plantings that stay green in summer. Explain what feels comfortable and what doesn't.
- Requirement 2a
After your requirement 1 visit, tell your counselor whether the design had distinct spaces, a clear entry point, an easy-to-follow path system, and a mix of sun and shade
- Requirement 2b
Discuss how any buildings or structures and the areas set aside for sitting, eating, or parking fit the overall design
- Requirement 2c
Explain how the design took into account users' comfort, shelter, and safety
- Requirement 2d
Discuss how the trees, shrubs, and ground covers chosen for the project added to how it looks and works
- Requirement 3
With help from your counselor or a local nursery, pick 5 trees, 5 shrubs, and 1 ground cover that grow in your area and vary in shape, size, and texture. Show pictures or samples (branches, leaves, flowers) to your troop, class, or a similar group, and tell how you'd use and maintain each in a landscape
Tip: Take photos of plant leaves and bark around your neighborhood, then match them using a field guide or a nursery's labels.
For example: Make an ID card for each plant: a photo of the leaf and the whole plant, its name, how big it gets, and where you found it. For ground cover, look for things like creeping juniper or pachysandra in planted beds.
- Requirement 4
With permission from whoever is in charge, study the grounds of a place of worship, school, or public building and find where most people arrive by car or bus. Then do 4a–4c
Tip: Ask permission to study the main entrance of a school, place of worship, or public building where people arrive by car or bus. Measure it, draw it from above, and mark where water runs before you add your ideas.
For example: Measure your school entrance, draw it to scale from above, and mark where people walk, where water puddles, and where the sun hits. Then add your ideas, like a bench in the shade and a rain garden by the downspout.
- Requirement 4a
Measure the main site entrance and the area around it with a tape and draw it to a stated scale, including the driveway, the walk to the main door, and any sidewalks, structures, plants, lights, drains, utilities, or site furniture. Make 2 copies and keep the original
- Requirement 4b
On one copy of your plan, draw arrows showing which way water drains across the site, and mark any ditches and places where water stands for a long time
- Requirement 4c
Decide how to make the area safer and more comfortable for its users, and redesign it on the other copy. Ideas include new walks, covered waiting spots, benches, trees and shrubs that define spaces, and drainage structures
- Requirement 5
Identify 3 careers that use landscape architecture skills. Pick one and research its training, education, certification, experience, and startup costs, plus job outlook, starting pay, and advancement. Talk it over with your counselor, including whether it interests you
Tip: Interview a landscape architect or look up what they study in college and what kinds of projects they work on.
For example: Look up how to become a landscape architect: the degree, the internship time, and the licensing exam. Compare it with related jobs like landscape designer, urban planner, and park planner.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A completed public park, plaza, or campus project
Walking a real site with its plan in hand shows how ideas on paper become a place people use.
How: Have an adult contact the city parks department or a landscape architecture firm and ask whether someone could share the plan or walk the site with your patrol.
A botanical garden or arboretum
Plants are labeled, so you can learn trees, shrubs, and ground covers and see how designers group them.
How: Check the website for hours and youth programs, and go with your family or patrol.
Where it can lead
- Landscape architectDesigns parks, campuses, and public spaces; needs a degree and a state license.
- Urban plannerDecides how land in a city is used, from parks to roads to neighborhoods.
- Landscape designer or contractorDesigns and builds gardens and yards; many learn through hands-on work.
- Park plannerPlans new parks and trails for cities, counties, and states.
- HorticulturistChooses and cares for plants used in gardens and public spaces.
Ask yourself
- What outdoor place makes you feel most comfortable, and why do you think that is?
- What did you notice about how people used the project you visited?
- When you drew your site plan, what was harder than you expected?
- How would your improvements help someone who uses a wheelchair, pushes a stroller, or is older?
- What outdoor space in your community would you most like to redesign?
Good questions to ask a landscape architect
- How do you find out what people want from a space before you design it?
- What's a project you're proud of, and what made it hard?
- How do you decide which plants to use?
- How do you design for rain and stormwater?
- What should I study in high school if I'm interested in this career?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Connect scouts with a local landscape architect or parks planner who can share real plans.
- Let scouts propose improvements to the troop's meeting place grounds as their site plan.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- American Society of Landscape Architects (opens in a new tab) — Info about the profession and what landscape architects do.
- City or county parks department — Can point you to local projects and planners.
- Local plant nursery — Staff can help you identify trees, shrubs, and ground covers.
- The Cultural Landscape Foundation (opens in a new tab) — Stories and photos of famous parks and gardens and the people who designed them.
- NPS: Landscape Architecture (opens in a new tab) — How the National Park Service designs roads, trails, and overlooks that fit the land.
- Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (opens in a new tab) — The home and office of the designer of many famous American parks.
- United States Botanic Garden (opens in a new tab) — Plant collections and gardening ideas from the national garden in Washington, D.C.
Pairs well with
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.