From the Pick and Shovel August/September 2014 issue
By Sarah Reijonen
For the GPAA
You could call them the next generation of '49ers. In February, 49 Boy Scouts earned the new Mining in Society merit badge.
Four years in the making, the new Boy Scouts of America badge was inaugurated with an awards ceremony hosted by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Our young people need to understand the essential nature of mining, and if they don't, we have a problem in the world and in this country in terms of providing for our future," said Scout Volunteer Frank McAllister, who has been in the mining industry for 50 years and is former president of the National Mining Association. "So, it's a sustainability issue. Generally, you wouldn't think of mining as being a sustainability issue, according to the political correctness that's out there, but mining is absolutely critical to the sustainability of our society.
There was a mining merit badge produced in 1910 or 1911. It was discontinued in the 1940s because I believe it was not getting enough attention from the boys," said Boy Scouts Advisory Development Chair John Murphy. "I think this merit badge is a very effective mechanism to make the general population aware of the importance of mining. And secondly, from the career aspect, it provides a way to introduce unique career opportunities.
The Boy Scouts organization hopes this badge will revive interests in mining and remind Americans of the need for mining in our everyday existence, Murphy said.
You are as aware as I am of the general societal indifference or adversity to mining," Murphy said. "First of all, the youth in the 11- to 17-year-old range are a great target audience to make aware the need for mining, the importance of mining, the reliance on mining. Here is a wonderful opportunity to introduce this to an organization that has millions of members in that age group and their families, as well.
In the process of earning the badge, Scouts must identify household items and explain their origin.
The Mining in Society merit badge explains our absolute reliance in our way of life and society on minerals," Murphy said. "One of the examples is the Smartphone and the fact that the Smartphone takes 33 different minerals to build. You and I take for granted that the Smartphone does all the fine things it does, but if there weren't the availability of these 33 minerals, we wouldn't have a Smartphone.
Qualifications for earning the Mining in Society badge are extensive, and Murphy conducted thorough research to make sure the badge would measure up to industry standards, McAllister said.
We call it a merit badge Mining 101 class for teenagers, if you will," McAllister said. "But, it could serve as a Mining 101: Introduction to Mining for college if you wanted to do that. It's very well done.
To promote the mining badge, Boy Scouts sent letters and copies of the merit badge pamphlet to every major mining company and organization in the nation — more than 300 altogether — to encourage the involvement of individuals in the industry.
"Without merit badge counselors, the mining merit badge can't work," McAllister said. "And, you just can't be a merit badge counselor for mining. It requires some familiarity — not necessarily that you have to be an engineer or you have to be a geologist, or that you have to be somebody that is totally educated in mining — but you have to be familiar with it enough that you would understand what the young man had done or not done in terms of earning the mining merit badge.
It's not just about knowledge of mining, but a passion that can be portrayed to the Scouts, McAllister said.
Gold Prospectors Association of America chapters and members can play an integral part in helping Scouts not only earn their mining badges, but chapters can educate and instill in them a sense of pride for mining.
The second thing, which is terribly important, is that in the industry we have people who are wedded to mining, who are enthusiastic about mining, and who can transmit that to the young man in the process of earning the mining merit badge," McAllister said.
Merit badge counselors are responsible for educating and mentoring Scouts. There are 21 mandatory badges, which Scouts must earn to graduate to Eagle Scout status. After those are completed, all other badges are based on a Scout's individual interests. Badges run the gamut of practical life skills, from personal fitness to finance and everything in between. Besides Mining in Society, Geology and Geocaching are two more badges that coordinate with GPAA chapter efforts and activities.
The opportunity here is big for your organization to get involved, and particularly your organization more than others, because yours is one where you're finding gold for heaven's sake," McAllister said. "For a kid, that's really neat.
GPAA Executive Director of Development Kevin Hoagland couldn't agree more.
The criteria for the merit badge encompasses a lot of things that gold prospectors in our chapters can help young people achieve," Hoagland said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for our chapters to get involved with youth and teach these Scouts about mining while helping them to achieve their merit badges.
Already, Scouts are expressing interest in earning the new mining badge.
One Scoutmaster came up to me in Montana and said, 'I have 10 new boys in my troop. I gave them the list of 130 merit badges, and do you know that every one of those young men came back and wanted to work on the mining merit badge first?' " McAllister said. "Now, just think about that — mining, boys and rocks. So, this is sort of married to young boys. They like rocks.
Not only do the Scouts learn the industry and dive into geology, but earning a badge also means touring working mines and quarries and even getting involved in community projects, such as securing abandoned mines.
McAllister has worked with Bill Durbin, a geologist for the Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources, for the last 20 years and has paired Durbin with local Scouts who want to fulfill this specific service project in order to become an Eagle Scout. So far, Durbin has facilitated 150 service projects for the Scouts.
This goes on beyond just the merit badge," McAllister said. "It depends on who's counting how many abandoned mines there are in the United States, whether there's 200,000 or 300,000 or whatever it might be. But, the issue is this — we should be celebrating the guys that created those mines, and then we've got to obviously make them safe ... We still should celebrate the guys that dug those mines, because they're the ones who created the western United States.
Along with other mining organizations, the GPAA is stepping up to assist Scouts in earning merit badges. Many chapters across the country already participate in educational demonstrations for the Scouts. Becoming a merit badge counselor is just the next step in furthering that partnership and mentoring opportunity.
The partnership between the Boy Scouts and the mining industry has become very, very good and it can only get better as we work with them, but we have to work with them," McAllister said. "We have to step forward and say, 'I want to become a Mining in Society merit badge counselor and I want to help the Scouts.' That's the fun thing about this — it can only get better.
Online Resources
- Get involved! Become a merit badge counselor: www.mineralseducationcoalition.org/MiningInSocietyMB
- Learn more about the Boy Scouts of America's Mining in Society merit badge: www.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/pdf/210-503_WB.pdf
- Find your local Boy Scouts council: www.scouting.org/LocalCouncilLocator.aspx
- Merit Badge Counselor Resources: www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/GuideforMeritBadgeCounselors/Resources.aspx
How Can You or Your GPAA Chapter Help?
Steps to becoming a Boy Scouts of America merit badge counselor:
- Locate your local Boy Scouts of America council.
- Let them know you want to become a counselor.
- Fill out the application.
- Take an online youth protection course.Get paired with a Scout who is working toward the Mining in Society merit badge (or other badges in which you are qualified to counsel).
Sarah Reijonen is a freelance writer based in California. She can be reached at sarahreijonen@yahoo.com.
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