Wilderness Survival teaches you how to stay calm and safe if things go wrong outdoors. You will build a shelter, make fire, treat water, and signal for help. These skills give you confidence on every trip, even if you never need them in an emergency.
Why it's worth it
Most Scouts never face a true survival situation, and this badge is a big reason why. You'll learn to plan trips that avoid trouble, and if something does go wrong, to stay calm, think clearly, and take care of shelter, water, and signaling in the right order. Knowing you can handle a cold night or a wrong turn makes every trip more relaxed, and it makes you someone your patrol can lean on.
Start this week
- Look through the pack you take on hikes and ask yourself what you'd do if you had to spend an unexpected night outside with only that.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Wilderness Survival counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Start gathering items for a small personal survival kit, like a whistle, a space blanket, and a way to start a fire, using things you already have where you can.
- Find the next campout on the troop calendar where you could practice shelter building and signaling with your patrol.
Stay safe
- Practice fire starting only with adult supervision in a safe fire ring, and make sure every fire is cold out before you leave it.
- Build and sleep in practice shelters only with your patrol and adults nearby, and never treat practice like the real thing by going off alone.
Requirements · 10
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
Hazards and first aid
Tips for this section: List hazards you might face, the first aid for each, and how a good trip plan helps you avoid them.
- Requirement 1a
Show or explain how to prevent and give first aid for these backcountry injuries and conditions
- Requirement 1a1
Dehydration
- Requirement 1a2
Heatstroke
- Requirement 1a3
Hypothermia
- Requirement 1a4
Shock
- Requirement 1a5
Blisters
- Requirement 1a6
Eye injuries
- Requirement 1a7
Sprained ankles and knees
- Requirement 1a8
Bites from chiggers, ticks, mosquitoes, and biting gnats
- Requirement 1a9
Bee stings
- Requirement 1a10
Spider bites
- Requirement 1a11
Scorpion stings
- Requirement 1a12
Bites from wild mammals
- Requirement 1a13
Venomous snakebites
- Requirement 1b
Explain how the Scout Basic Essentials help with the dangers of a survival situation and why they form the base of a survival kit
- Requirement 1c
Explain how making a trip plan can keep you out of a wilderness survival situation
- Requirement 2
Explain why each of the seven priorities of survival matters when you're in the wilderness
Tip: Talk through the seven priorities and put them in order for a few pretend situations.
For example: Put the seven priorities in order for a scenario, like being separated from your group in the late afternoon in fall: stay calm, then first aid, shelter, fire, signaling, water, and food. Explain why shelter comes before food.
- Requirement 3
Describe how to keep from panicking and keep morale high if you are lost, and explain why that matters
Tip: Talk about how staying calm and positive helps a group survive, and what you'd do to keep spirits up.
For example: Describe what you'd do to keep spirits up: take turns with small jobs, tell stories, keep a routine, and remind everyone that people are looking for you. Share one way you calm yourself when you're scared.
- Requirement 4
Put together two kits, one for personal first aid and one for personal survival, and show how each item in them is used
Tip: Pack a small first aid kit and a separate survival kit, and explain why you chose each item.
For example: Pack two small kits in zip bags or tins. First aid: adhesive bandages, gauze, and tape. Survival: a whistle, a signal mirror, a space blanket, a fire starter, a small flashlight, and water treatment tablets. Explain why each item earns its spot.
- Requirement 5
Shelter
Tips for this section: Build a simple natural shelter on a campout with your patrol and an adult nearby.
Example for this section: With your patrol and an adult on a campout, build a simple lean-to or debris shelter from fallen branches and leaves, using low-impact methods. Spend the night in it, then take it apart and scatter the materials when you're done.
- Requirement 5a
Describe what you would do to survive in each of these exposure conditions
- Requirement 5a1
Cold and snowy
- Requirement 5a2
Wet
- Requirement 5a3
Hot and dry
- Requirement 5a4
Windy
- Requirement 5a5
On or near the water
- Requirement 5b
Show you know the right clothing for the outdoors in very hot weather, very cold weather, and wet conditions
- Requirement 5c
Explain ways to stay safe from bears and raccoons
- Requirement 5d
Describe how to find or build a survival shelter in a forest or in snow
- Requirement 5e
Improvise a natural shelter using low-impact methods, and spend a night in it
- Requirement 6
Build and light 3 fires, each with a different method that doesn't use matches
Tip: Practice fire starting with a leader in a safe fire ring, and always put the fire out completely.
- Requirement 7
Signaling
Tips for this section: Practice using a whistle, mirror, and ground signals on your next campout.
Example for this section: Practice three whistle blasts, flash a signal mirror at a target, and lay out large ground-to-air signals with logs, rocks, or bright clothing in an open area where they'd be visible from above.
- Requirement 7a
Explain and demonstrate ways lost or stranded Scouts could signal ground, air, or water search teams to get their attention
- Requirement 7b
Demonstrate using a signal mirror
- Requirement 7c
From memory, describe 5 ground-to-air signals and what each one means
- Requirement 8
Demonstrate 3 ways to treat water found outdoors so it is safe to drink
Tip: Try filtering, boiling, and treating water on a campout with an adult.
- Requirement 9
Explain why eating wild plants or animals is usually a bad idea in a wilderness survival situation
Tip: Talk about why wild plants can be risky to eat and why carrying food is safer.
- Requirement 10
Careers and hobbies. Choose 1 of 2
Tips for this section: Ask a ranger or outdoor instructor how they use survival skills in their work.
- Requirement 10a
Explore careers related to this badge and research one (training and education, costs, job outlook, pay, duties, advancement) using sources your parent or guardian approves; discuss your findings and why it might interest you with your counselor
- Requirement 10b
Explore how this badge's skills could lead to a hobby or volunteer work; research training, expenses, and groups that support it, then discuss 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 state park or forest visitor center
Rangers can share real stories of lost hikers and what helped them get found.
How: Have a leader call the park office and ask if a ranger can talk with your patrol during a trip.
A search and rescue team demonstration
Searchers can show you what helps them find people quickly, like bright clothing and staying put.
How: Have a leader contact the sheriff's office or local SAR team and ask about a demonstration for your troop.
Where it can lead
- Park rangerProtects parks and visitors and often helps with searches and rescues.
- Outdoor educator or guideTeaches backcountry skills and leads trips.
- Military survival instructorTrains service members in survival, evasion, and rescue skills.
- Wildland firefighterWorks long shifts in remote places where outdoor skills matter.
Ask yourself
- How would you react if you realized you were lost, and what would you do first?
- Which survival skill was hardest to get right, and how did you keep trying?
- What did spending time in your shelter teach you about staying warm and dry?
- How do you keep yourself or others calm when things go wrong?
- What will you pack or do differently on trips now?
Good questions to ask your counselor or an experienced outdoor leader
- What's the most common reason people get into trouble outdoors?
- Have you ever had a trip go wrong, and what did you learn from it?
- What's the one item you'd never leave out of a survival kit?
- How do you decide when to stay put and when to move?
- Which survival skills are worth practicing every season?
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
- Plan a campout where scouts practice shelters and signals in a safe setting.
- Supervise fire starting closely and make sure fires are fully put out.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- American Red Cross (opens in a new tab) — First aid classes.
- Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (opens in a new tab) — Outdoor skills that protect nature.
- National Park Service (opens in a new tab) — Information on outdoor safety and parks.
- USDA Forest Service (opens in a new tab) — Safety tips and rules for visiting national forests and grasslands.
- Smokey Bear (opens in a new tab) — How to build, manage, and fully put out a campfire.
- National Weather Service: Lightning Safety (opens in a new tab) — What to do when you're outdoors and a storm comes in.
Pairs well with
Helps you earn
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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.