William T. Hornaday Awards

William T. Hornaday Award
Bronze, silver and gold medals badge, gold badge square knot emblem
Award data
Country	United States of America
Founded	1915
Founder	William Temple Hornaday
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The William T. Hornaday Awards are a series of awards presented by the Boy Scouts of America for service in conservation and ecology. The program is designed to encourage learning about natural resource conservation and the environment, teach sound stewardship of the natural resources and the environment, and recognize those who are outstanding in this field.

Awards

Recipients of the Silver Medal and the Gold Medal may wear the corresponding square knot insignia, with a blue, green and white knot on a tan background, on the BSA uniform.

Program

The awards are presented at several levels:^[1]

• The Unit Award is a certificate presented at the council level to a BSA unit that completes a significant conservation service project.

• The William T. Hornaday Badge is a council level award that can be earned by Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers by completing certain advancement requirements and performing at least one substantial project.

• The William T. Hornaday Gold Badge is a council level award presented to adult Scouters who have provided significant leadership in conservation at the council or district level over a period of at least three years.

• The William T. Hornaday Bronze Medal is a national level award that can be earned by Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers by completing certain advancement requirements and performing at least three bronze substantial projects.

• The William T. Hornaday Silver Medal is a national level award that can be earned by Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers by completing certain advancement requirements and performing at least four silver substantial projects.

• The William T. Hornaday Gold Badge is a national level award presented to adult Scouters who have provided significant leadership in conservation on a national or regional basis over a period of at least twenty years.

• The William T. Hornaday Gold Certificate is a national level award presented to corporations or organizations who have provided outstanding contribution to youth conservation education for at least three years.

Origins

This program was created in 1914 by Dr. William Temple Hornaday as the Wildlife Protection Medal.^[2] Its purpose was to challenge Americans to work constructively for wildlife conservation and habitat protection. After his death in 1937, the award was renamed in Dr. Hornaday's honor and became a BSA award.

In the early 1970s, the present awards program was established with funding help from DuPont. At that time, the late Dr. Hornaday's idea of conservation was broadened to include environmental awareness.

References

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