Nature is about seeing how plants, animals, soil, and water all fit together. You'll explore several areas of nature and spend real time outdoors observing. It makes every hike and campout more interesting.
Why it's worth it
Once you learn to read nature, every walk turns into a story. A chewed pinecone means a squirrel ate there, a line of young cottonwoods marks where water runs, and a quiet field is slowly turning into a forest. This badge trains you to notice things most people walk right past. That skill makes hikes and campouts more interesting, and it's the starting point for careers that protect land, water, and wildlife.
Start this week
- Start a nature notebook today. Sit outside for ten minutes, even in a yard or a city park, and write or sketch everything alive you notice.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Nature counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Look over the nature fields in the requirements and circle the five that interest you most.
- Look up your state's protected or endangered plants and animals and pick one of each to learn about.
Plan ahead: Requirement 4 means finishing the work in five separate nature fields, and requirement 6 asks you to observe a natural area. Start both early and keep notes on every outing, since they take the most time.
Stay safe
- Learn to spot poison ivy, ticks, and any venomous snakes in your area, and observe animals without touching or feeding them.
- Explore with a buddy or adult, and tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back.
Requirements · 7
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
Note: Collect only where it's legal and allowed, with the land manager's permission, sparingly and never protected species; photos or sketches can count as a collection.
- Requirement 1
Name three ways plants matter to animals. Name a plant with legal protection where you live and tell why it is threatened
Tip: Think about how plants give animals food and shelter, then find a protected plant in your state.
For example: Plants give animals food, shelter, and oxygen. You could explain that an oak feeds deer with acorns, hides nesting birds, and shades a stream so fish stay cool, then share a protected plant from your state and why it's at risk.
- Requirement 2
Name three ways animals matter to plants. Name an animal with legal protection where you live and tell why it is threatened
Tip: Look at how animals help plants, like bees spreading pollen or birds spreading seeds. Find a protected animal in your area.
- Requirement 3
Explain what a food chain is and give a four-step example on land and a four-step example in water
Tip: Draw a food chain from a pond and one from a forest, starting with the sun and ending with a predator.
For example: On land: grass, grasshopper, frog, hawk. In water: algae, insect larvae, small fish, heron. Start each with the sun's energy and draw arrows showing where the energy goes.
- Requirement 4
Nature fields (all parts of each field). Choose 5 of 8
Tips for this section: Pick five fields you're curious about, like birds, insects, or rocks, and work through them one at a time over a few weeks.
Example for this section: Choose fields you can actually reach. A Scout near a pond might pick fish, reptiles and amphibians, and insects, then add plants and birds, which live almost everywhere. Work through one field every few weeks.
- Requirement 4a
Birds
- Requirement 4a1
Identify eight bird species in the field
- Requirement 4a2
Make and put out a birdhouse, feeding station, or birdbath, and list the birds that use it over one month
- Requirement 4b
Mammals
- Requirement 4b1
Identify three wild mammal species in the field
- Requirement 4b2
Make plaster casts of a wild mammal's tracks
- Requirement 4c
Reptiles and amphibians
- Requirement 4c1
Show you can identify the venomous snakes found near you
- Requirement 4c2
Identify three reptile or amphibian species in the field
- Requirement 4c3
Identify one toad or frog species by its call, or one reptile or amphibian by its eggs, den, burrow, or other signs
- Requirement 4d
Insects and spiders
- Requirement 4d1
Collect and identify 10 species of insects or spiders, in the field or from photos (your own or from other sources)
- Requirement 4d2
Do one: hatch an insect from a pupa or cocoon, hatch adults from nymphs, raise larvae until they pupate or spin cocoons, or keep an ant or bee colony for one season
- Requirement 4e
Fish
- Requirement 4e1
Identify two fish species native to your area
- Requirement 4e2
Collect four kinds of animal food that wild fish eat
- Requirement 4f
Mollusks and crustaceans
- Requirement 4f1
Identify five species of mollusks and crustaceans
- Requirement 4f2
Collect, mount, and label six shells
- Requirement 4g
Plants
- Requirement 4g1
Identify 15 wild plant species in the field
- Requirement 4g2
Seeds or leaves. Choose 1 of 2
- Requirement 4g2a
Collect and label seeds from six plants or leaves from 12 plants
- Requirement 4g2b
Photograph seeds from six plants or leaves from 12 plants, and make a catalog of the photos
- Requirement 4h
Soils and rocks
- Requirement 4h1
Collect and identify three soil types: one high in sand, one in clay, and one in humus
- Requirement 4h2
Collect and identify five kinds of rocks from your area
- Requirement 5
Discuss why the Outdoor Code and the Leave No Trace Seven Principles matter in nature study, and explain how you followed them in natural areas while observing, collecting, and identifying
Tip: Talk about how to enjoy nature without harming it, like staying on trails and leaving what you find.
For example: Use a real place you've been: "At the creek we kept to the trail, left the salamanders under their rocks, and packed out our snack wrappers so raccoons wouldn't get into them."
- Requirement 6
Succession
Tips for this section: Visit the same natural area a few times and look for clues that it's changing over time, like young trees in an old field.
Example for this section: Pick a spot like an old field, a vacant lot, or a forest edge. Visit three or four times and note what's growing: grasses first, then shrubs, then young trees. Explain what the spot might look like in 30 years.
- Requirement 6a
Explain succession to your counselor
- Requirement 6b
Visit a natural area such as a forest, grassland, meadow, or water feature and explain its plant and animal succession stage, what communities came before and may come next, what past disturbances shaped it, and what future changes may reshape it
- Requirement 7
Careers or hobbies. Choose 1 of 2
Tips for this section: Talk with a park ranger or naturalist about their job and how they got started.
- Requirement 7a
Name three careers that use nature skills. Pick one and research its training, education, certification, experience, costs, job outlook, starting pay, and advancement. Talk over your findings with your counselor, including whether you'd want this career
- Requirement 7b
Identify how nature skills could become a personal hobby. Research the extra training, costs, and organizations that could help you get the most from it, then share your findings and your short- and long-term goals with your counselor
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A nature center or wildlife refuge
Naturalists can show you skulls, tracks, and live animals and point out what to look for in each nature field.
How: Have a parent or leader check the website for guided walks or call and ask the education coordinator if they can lead a patrol walk.
A natural history museum
Collections of insects, birds, rocks, and fossils make it easier to learn to identify what you see outside.
How: Go with your family or patrol. Many museums have free days, and some have staff who answer questions at a discovery room.
Where it can lead
- Wildlife biologistStudies animal populations and habitats for state and federal agencies; usually needs a science degree.
- Park naturalist or interpreterLeads walks and programs that help visitors understand what they're seeing.
- Forestry technicianMeasures trees, maintains trails, and helps manage forests; many start with a two-year program or seasonal job.
- Conservation officerEnforces hunting, fishing, and wildlife laws and helps people enjoy the outdoors safely.
Ask yourself
- What part of nature do you already notice without trying, and what do you usually miss?
- Which nature field surprised you the most once you started looking closely?
- How did spending quiet time outdoors change how you feel?
- What's one change you've seen in a natural place near you, and what do you think caused it?
- What could you do this year to help a plant or animal in your area?
Good questions to ask a naturalist or park ranger
- What's the most interesting thing that lives in this area that most visitors never see?
- How has this land changed since you started working here?
- Which invasive species cause the most trouble here, and how do you handle them?
- What's a good way for a beginner to learn to identify birds or plants?
- How did you get started in this kind of work?
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
- Build nature observation into regular hikes and campouts with short challenges.
- Help scouts connect with a nature center or park ranger for guided walks.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- National Park Service (opens in a new tab) — Parks, ranger programs, and nature info.
- Local nature center — Guided walks and experts to answer questions.
- Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (opens in a new tab) — How to enjoy nature responsibly.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Endangered Species (opens in a new tab) — Look up protected plants and animals and learn why they're at risk.
- National Audubon Society (opens in a new tab) — Bird guides and conservation news from a long-running nature nonprofit.
- National Wildlife Federation (opens in a new tab) — Wildlife guides and ideas for making your yard or school friendlier to animals.
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.