Scouts, National Geographic team up to save animals

nat-geo-patchAnimals can’t speak for themselves, so thank goodness for Scouts and National Geographic who have partnered up to speak for them.

You might’ve read in recent issues of Boys’ Life and Scouting magazines about the National Geographic Mission: Animal Rescue Contest. (Or maybe you read about it on my blog.)

The contest closed in September, and now we can announce the winners. The grand-prize winner for youth gets an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Geographic Explorers Symposium in Washington, D.C.

The winner for adults gets a visit from a National Geographic Explorer for his unit.

So who are the winners, and what did they do that was so great?

Boys’ Life winner

Jacob M.: Small Steps for the Devils River Minnow

Prize: Limited-edition patch and an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Geographic Explorers Symposium

Project: He wanted to educate people abut the Devil’s River Minnow and its habitat. Jacob created an exhibit currently on display at Amistad’s National Parks and Recreation Visitor Center. He also made pamphlets and created an awareness video, which he posted on social media sites encouraging others to watch and share. Along with his pack, he participated in two creekside cleanups in his area to benefit the Devil’s River Minnow as well as other native birds and small animals that live in the area.

To read more about his project, go here.

Runners-up: Find the other great projects here.

Scouting winner

Cub Scout Pack 902 and leader Stephen Norris: Local Connections, Global Impact

Prize: A visit from a National Geographic Explorer for his unit.

Project: The den focused on animal conservation and the local elements to it. The den had a visit from the local Butler County Parks Service devoted to bats, their role in the ecosystem, and how they might help them. The entire pack had a visit from a local organization, Raptors Inc., that rescues birds of prey — they brought owls and talked to the boys about why they rescue them, why it is important and what the boys can do to help. The den held two conservation projects, one at a local nature park and one at the site where they hold meetings, where they cleaned up trash and talked about how doing so would help to protect the animals.

Photo:

NatGeo-Animal-Rescue---SCwinner

About Mission: Animal Rescue

Mission: Animal Rescue books are packed with real-life animal stories, photographs, and maps; field reports and adventure tips from National Geographic explorers; and hands-on rescue challenges and activities. See sample pages here.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.