looking for ideas for boy scouts

**scottgsr2000** · 09-19-2012, 07:26 PM

Need some help. This October my troop is doing wilderness survival merit badge. They will be building shelters and spending the night in them. Starting fire three ways without matches and purifing water three ways as well. I am looking for food ideas. In the past we have done MRE'S and canned food with no lables. Your input is appreciated.

**Rick** · 09-19-2012, 07:33 PM

You need Phil. He'll be along shortly. He's our resident scout guru. If he doesn't have it then it doesn't exist.

**scottgsr2000** · 09-19-2012, 07:40 PM

sweet ...if it helps we usually have about 15 scouts who show up for this badge they love it

**Wildthang** · 09-19-2012, 08:01 PM

dont let them bring any food and make them eat bugs:smartass;

**kyratshooter** · 09-19-2012, 08:26 PM

We had a nice photo heavy boots in the field thread just a few weeks ago.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...al-with-scouts

**scottgsr2000** · 09-19-2012, 08:42 PM

photo 2.jpg photo 1.jpg photo 3.jpg these photos are from last years wilderness survival. the shelter in the pic was the best one of the weekend. some of the other boys tried there hand at fishing and did pretty good.

**crashdive123** · 09-19-2012, 09:33 PM

1 - have them treat a "patient" for a sprained or broken ankle
2 - If you are in an area with hills, or you can put a little distance between two groups have them use a signal mirror to locate each other
3 - have them build several ground to air signals

**pgvoutdoors** · 09-19-2012, 10:17 PM

BSA Wilderness Survival Training
Recommended Food

Set the survival scenario right from the start and limit the food to what you provide only. The goal is to provide food items that can either be found in the wild or can simulate those items. Consider roots, greens, nuts, fish, and meats other than chicken, pork, beef, and turkey. Contact a butcher shop that specializes in exotic meats and wild game. You can use a few food items that may be found in a survival kit; soup mixes, power bars, hard candy, bouillon mixes, cool-aid mixes, and so on. They can eat many of the items uncooked but if they do need to cook, have them cook over a fire without pots and utensils. You can have them roast items on a stick, cook in hot ash, steam by wrapping items in wet leaves (grape leaves work great), cook on a heated rock, pit cooking, and cook by wrapping in clay. The main thing is to make it new and interesting by providing food items that their not accustom to.

ð Mustard, Collard, or other greens
ð Green Onions
ð Whole Coconuts (with the outer husk on)
ð Blue Berries
ð Tropical Fruits (the stranger the better)
ð Whole Unsalted Peanuts
ð Raw Pine Nuts
ð Meats: bison, venison, bear, snake, clams, or pheasant
ð Turnips, Beets, Rutabagas, Leeks, and so on

Take a walk around you local grocery store and check out what is in season. I typically have them catch a couple of Bluegills to make a meal with. The merit badge is focused on a short term survival situation and does not require the boys to forage or look for food. The idea is in a short term situation, food is not a priority and foraging and hunting can use a lot of energy and can be dangerous. By providing a limited menu, and letting them get a little hungry, they get the idea of what it would be like if they would have to survive on limited food.

If you would like a outline that was use in a Wilderness Survival weekend, PM me with your email address and I'll send it to you.
Have fun and thanks for working with the scouts.

Phil

**scottgsr2000** · 09-19-2012, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by kyratshooter

We had a nice photo heavy boots in the field thread just a few weeks ago.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...al-with-scouts

love the idea of teaching them how to prepare a live chicken. I am going to do it. Any more ideas would be awsome.

**pgvoutdoors** · 09-19-2012, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by scottgsr2000

love the idea of teaching them how to prepare a live chicken. I am going to do it. Any more ideas would be awsome.

Speaking from experience, be sure to clear the live chicken thing with your parents committee otherwise the repercussions from only one angry parent can turn into big problems. I've use that method many times for non-scout training and its very popular and effective. I've heard of scouters using it but everyone must be on board. These days "Little Johnny" may of never even cleaned a fish before.

**scottgsr2000** · 09-19-2012, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by pgvoutdoors

Speaking from experience, be sure to clear the live chicken thing with your parents committee otherwise the repercussions from only one angry parent can turn into big problems. I've use that method many times for non-scout training and its very popular and effective. I've heard of scouters using it but everyone must be on board. These days "Little Johnny" may of never even cleaned a fish before.

i will bring it up before we head out. i have a good group of parents. they have been elbow deep in fish gutts to help teach how to clean fish.

**pgvoutdoors** · 09-19-2012, 10:51 PM

Sounds like you have things under control. The survival outline has been sent to your email. Have fun!

**hunter63** · 09-20-2012, 11:23 AM

Good on you for spending time with the kids.

Be sure to take a lot of pic's,..... I always enjoy them as do most of us......

**Echo2** · 09-21-2012, 08:24 PM

Just be warned.....the effect of some "weird" foods on the bowels can be a bad thing in the middle of the night.....might bring some pepto.

Big chunk of meat on the bone adds to the experience.

Having them boil enough water to cook a stew and drink....it will let them know how much water they use in a day.

Knowing what can be used in lieu of paper is a good thing to hit on also.

Have them build a smoke hole to cook over.....use minimum fuel to cook with.

Have them build a "hot bed" with the coals to sleep on if it's cold....and for demo if it's not.

Demo how to dry clothes in stages....boots too.

Just some suggestions.

**pgvoutdoors** · 09-24-2012, 01:09 PM

Bill, a copy of the survival outline has been sent. Good luck and have fun.

**aflineman** · 09-24-2012, 09:06 PM

Bannock on a stick has been popular at the ones I helped out with. Teaches a bit of cooking that the kids normally are not used to. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to make/cook it.

**finallyME** · 09-26-2012, 10:02 AM

On our trip where we built shelters, there were fire restrictions so we couldn't do the fire part. We made up for it on another camp out.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...gnifying-glass

I have done this merit badge three times now, and have come to realize that it is really hard to get all the requirements done on one camp out. Especially if you have more than a few scouts. So, I generally split up the requirements between a few camp outs. Also, I have always needed to give the boys a lot of time to build their shelters, usually more than 4 hours. They also need a lot of encouragement. I usually provide a prize for the best shelter, and even some prizes for 2nd or 3rd place. I usually give out a knife (Mora 511 is my favorite for scouts) as a prize, but check with parents before doing this. A knife seems to be the most motivating prize that doesn't cost a ton. An XBOX would probably be a more motivating prize, but a knife comes close. Sometimes I buy a bunch of cheap stuff for them to put in their survival kits. It is usually stuff I know they would have a hard time finding, or their parents would have no idea about. That mostly ends up being the cheap fero rods and mag rods from Firesteel.com. (I am not associated with that site, just used them a lot).
I like to bring an animal to kill and eat (one time it was a rabbit, and another a rooster). I check with parents and charter organization before doing this. I also give the boys an opt out of the killing. I have a few boys who don't want to watch, and I give them the option. Others have mentioned some great advice for food offerings and cooking. I have never had enough time for all that in one camp out. We usually schedule a half day of fishing and end up with only half a day for building shelters. That is probably just me over planning.
One last thing. I have used light sticks the last two times to "mark" each shelter location at night. That way I can find each boy if we have to evacuate because of heavy storms or lighting or whatever. I basically hang a light stick above each shelter at dusk. It came in handy the last trip when we had a rain storm for 2 hours in the middle of the night, and I had to walk around checking on the boys at 2 am. You'd be surprised how camouflage a natural shelter is in a dense forest in the middle of the night while it rains.

**Pale E O** · 10-03-2012, 08:44 PM

A friend ordered live coturnix quail and had each child (this group had girls too) kill, pluck, clean and cook their own dinner over the camp fire. These are small enough to make individual portions and can be roasted like hot dogs but taste way better. Yes, some of the kids opted out... you might be surprised how few of those were girls. This was a big deal for all of them, and they came away with a better understanding of where their food comes from.