Requirements at 2022 Merit Badge College

Most of the requirements for this merit badge were completed at the Troop 457 Merit Badge College 2022.  The merit badge college was held on March 3, 2022.  The items here are the remaining requirements to complete the merit badge.

Requirement 3c - Water Pollution

Describe the impact of a waterborne pollutant on an aquatic community. Write a 100-word report on how that pollutant affected aquatic life, what the effect was, and whether the effect is linked to biomagnification.
A common water pollutant in the South is Ammonia from agricultural fertilizers.  Fertilizers are sprayed on crops in the fields and when it rains, ammonia is washed into nearby water sources. If the runoff goes into a lake, it can affect fish habitat. A high concentration of ammonia is toxic to most fish. Factors like water temperature, ph, and mineral content of water can affect the toxicity of ammonia to the fish population. For fish that can survive large concentration of ammonia, the fish will have lots of ammonia in its bloodstream. These surviving fish may not be able to reproduce well, may have stunted growth, and may not live as long as they should.

Requirement 3e - Endangered Species

​Do research on one endangered species found in your state. Find out what its natural habitat is, why it is endangered, what is being done to preserve it, and how many individual organisms are left in the wild. Prepare a 100-word report about the organism, including a drawing. Present your report to your patrol or troop.
One species in Tennessee that is highly endangered is the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis). The Hellbender is a species of aquatic giant salamander that can be found in Tennessee.  The Hellbender is the largest salamander in North America.  The Hellbender was once abundant in the streams of Tennessee but has declined significantly because of stream impoundment and pollution.  The usage of dams in the rivers of Tennessee can reduce the water flow downstream, which can reduce the habitat of the Hellbenders.

The steps that Tennessee is taking to help improve the Hellbender population include preservation of existing habitats and captive breeding and release into the habitats.

The state of Tennessee adopted the Hellbender as an endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 when the species was added by the Federal government in ​October 5, 2011.
List of Endangered Species:
www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/wildlife/1660-01-32-threatened-endangered-species-rule.pdf

Requirement 3f - ​Pollution Prevention, Resource Recovery, and Conservation

​Look around your home and determine 10 ways your family can help reduce pollution. Practice at least two of these methods for seven days and discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
Working with my family, we discussed these items to help reduce, recycle, and reuse:

​1. Recycling of container board - we will recycle any cardboard
2. Recycling of plastics - we will recycle any plastics that our recycling center will take
3. Recycling of Aluminum - we will recycle any aluminum 
4. Avoid buying glass containers - our recycling does not accept glass
5. Recycling paper products - recycle any paper
6. Compost food instead of throwing away 
7. Conserve electricity by turning off lights and devices when not in use
​8. Replace all lights in the house with LED bulbs
9. Conserve water - don't run sink for brushing teeth and wash larger loads of laundry
10. Conserve natural gas - put on a sweater rather than turn up the heater

For seven days, we focused heavily on recycle trash.  When we finished preparing dinner, I would look for cans or paper products for recycling.  We would wash any containers to recycle and put it in the recycling bin.  Focusing on this for a week, really helped to reduce the trash we had in the trash can.

Our family tried to remember to turn off lights and the TV when no one was in the room using it.  As we walk out of a room, we flipped off the lights.  I also like to use Alexa to turn off the TV when not in use.

Requirement 3g - Pollination

​Using photographs or illustrations, point out the differences between a drone and a worker bee. Discuss the stages of bee development (eggs, larvae, pupae). Explain the pollination process, and what propolis is and how it is used by honey bees. Tell how bees make honey and beeswax, and how both are harvested. Explain the part played in the life of the hive by the queen, the drones, and the workers.
The worker bee is smaller than the drone bee.
The drone bee does not have a stinger, while the worker bee does have a stinger.
The drone bee appears to be bigger than the worker bee.
The worker bee has notably smaller eyes than the drone.
The development stages for a bee begins with the queen laying an egg in a cell.  After four days, the egg hatches and the larvae stage starts.  At 10 days, the larvae spins a cocoon and the pupa stages begins.  Around day 20, the pupa becomes an adult a chews out of the cell.
A worker bee is attracted to a flower and crawls into the flower to collect nectar (the food for the bee) and pollen sticks to the bee's feet.  The bee lies to another flower and repeats the same activities.  The pollen from the first flower rubs off the bee onto the second, which will cross-pollinate the flower.
Propolis is bee saliva + beeswax + nectar.  The propolis is also known as bee glue, because it is used to seal open spaces and cracks in the bee hive.
Young bees start the secretion of wax when they developer the special wax-producing glands in their abdomen. The wax is extruded through small pores and it develops as small wax-flakes on the abdomen of the bee. The other worker bees collect these wax flakes and start with the chewing process. With the chewing, the bees add salivary secretions to the wax and this makes it softer and ready for further use.
To harvest honey from a hive, you will:
1. Open the hive (assuming it is in a honeybee box)
2. Calm the bees with some smoke
3. Uncap the honey - remove the bee glue
4. Press out the honey from the comb
5. The comb can be used for bee's wax products
6. Filtering honey to remove debris
7. Enjoy honey on a peanut butter and honey sandwich!
In the hive, the Queen bee must lay eggs.  She will not leave the hive unless the hive begins to fail.  When a new queen bee is born, she must start a new hive.

The Drone bees' only function is to fertilize the queen's eggs.

The worker bees do all the work!  They collect nectar from flowers, convert nectar into honey, make wax for the hive comb, defend the hive from predators, and keep the hive clean.

Requirement 3h - Invasive Species

​Learn to identify the major invasive plant species in your community or camp and explain to your counselor what can be done to either eradicate or control their spread.
Kudzu is an example of an invasive plant species in the Southeast.  Kudzu was introduced to the South on purpose in an attempt to stop soil erosion in the 1930's.  Unfortunately, kudzu adapted very well to the Southeast, spread rapidly, and began to hurt other native plants.

The best way to kill kudzu is to use herbicides or fungicides.  Often, a site will need to be treated multiple times to completely remove the kudzu plants.

Requirement 4 - Study Areas

​Mark off a plot of 4 square yards in each study area, and count the number of species found there. Estimate how much space is occupied by each plant species and the type and number of nonplant species you find. Report to your counselor orally or in writing the biodiversity and population density of these study areas.
I went to the Johnson Park area in Collierville, TN on March 27th around 1 pm to find two areas to study.  I picked the Johnson Park because it has many different area, including a wetland, lake, forest, and river.

The first area I picked was the edge of the wetlands on the north-side of the park.  I picked out a plot of area that measured 8 feet by 8 feet and I reviewed the area inside the square.  Because we are just coming out of winter, there were very few non-plant species observed.

Study Location - Wetland Area

Wetland Area Plant Species

Plant Species
Space Each Occupies
Pecan Tree x 1
1 ft diameter
Pin Oak Tree x 2
5 in and 2 in diameter
Swamp Ash Tree x 1
​(? maybe - could not tell because there are no leaves to confirm)
20 in diameter
Cardamine plant x5
9 in spread across the ground
Green Onion x 2
5-6 in spread across the ground
Gum Ball seeds x 5
1 in in diameter
Lawn Burweed x 3
6 in each
Brambles x 3
3 in ground cover

Wetland Area Non-plant Species

Species
Number Found
Snail
1
Worm
10
Ants
3
Woodpecker
1 Black/white bird - could not determine the type

Study Location - Forest Area Near Lake

Forest Plant Species

Plant Species
Area Occupied by Plant
Oak Trees x 4
26 in to 32 in
Cardamine x 3
3 in in ground cover
Gumball Seeds x 8
1 in 
Unknown Tulip x 9
(no flowers blooming so we could not identify 100%)
2 in ground coverage
Viola Hirsutula (Violet) x 5
1 in ground coverage
Wheat grass x 7
1 in ground coverage

Forest Non-Plant Species

Species
Number Found
Wolf spider
2
Ant
4
Worms
5
Woodpecker
1 white/black woodpecker
Small finches
3
​Report to your counselor orally or in writing the biodiversity and population density of these study areas.
The biodiversity I observed was lower than expected based upon the season.  The end of March is coming out of winter and many plant species have not fully grown back, so there was a lot of dead matter, such as leaves and fallen branches.  The plants that were found are mostly weeds and opportunist plant which will grow before others.

In the swampy area, I found many mature and large trees.  Looking outside of the area that I roped off, you could see many other trees of the same type.  The forest area has many tall trees that block out the sunlight, so there are not too many smaller plants found underneath.  The non-tree plants were mostly weeds (green onions for example).  These weeds require less sunlight and are heartier than other grasses and bushes.  These weeds also can grow through the fallen leaves on the ground.

In the forest area near the lake, I found more diversity in the plants which included some flowers, like the tulip and the violets.  The edge of the forest area tends to get more sunlight, so more of these plants can survive.  If I were to go deeper in the woods, I would not expect to see the same types of flowers.

As for the non-plant species, there were very few bugs due to the temperature (60 degrees F).  I found most of the insects when I moved leaves or dead branches, which the insects were using for shelter from the elements.  The exception was the birds!  The birds were foraging and mating in the areas I observed.

Sign-Offs from Class

Award

  • Requirements completed on:
  • Awarded on: 05/16/22 at Court of Honor
  • Merit Badge Counselor: Mr. Mike Quirk