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Sustainability Merit Badge (Session 1, AM)

Free
Full
Sat, Mar 14, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1515 Poplar Drive, Reston, VA, USA Map
Sustainability Merit Badge (Session 1, AM)
1.  Describe the meaning of sustainability in your own words. Explain the importance of sustainability to society and how you can contribute to fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations. 
Resources:What is Sustainability (video)
Introduction to Sustainability (video)
2.  Water. Do ONE of the following and discuss with your counselor:
Resources:The Water Cycle - Weather and Climate (video)
The Water Cycle (video)
  • (a) Evaluate your household water usage. If available, review water bills from the past year and evaluate the seasonal changes in water use. Identify three ways to help reduce water consumption. 
    Resource: How We Use Water (video)
  • (b) Explain why water is necessary in our lives. Create a diagram to show how your household gets its clean water from a natural source and what happens with the water after you use it. Tell two ways to preserve your community's access to clean water in the future.
    Resources:How Do We Get Clean Drinking Water? (video)
    Facts About Water (video)
  • (c) Different areas of the world are affected by either too much (flooding) or too little (drought) water. Explore whether either or both affect where you live. Identify three water conservation or flood mitigation practices (successful or unsuccessful) that have been tried where you live or in an area of the world that interests you.
    Resources:Science Behind Drought (video)
    Assessing Drought in the United States (video)
    Understanding Floods (video)
3.  Food. Do ONE of the following and discuss with your counselor: 

Resources:
Matter and Energy in Food Webs (video)
Food and Energy in Organisms (video)
4.  Community. Do ONE of the following and discuss with your counselor: 
Resources: Impacts of Urbanization (video)
What Happens When We Band Together? (video)
5.  Energy. Do ONE of the following and discuss with your counselor:
Resource:Energy Resources (video)
  • (a) Learn about the sustainability of different energy sources, including coal, gas, geothermal, hydro power, nuclear, petroleum, solar, and wind. Identify three common energy sources in the United States and describe how the production and consumption of each of these energy sources affects sustainability. 
    Resources:Renewable Energy (video)
    Carbon Footprint (video)
  • (b) List eight ways your family consumes energy, such as gas appliances, electricity, heating systems or cooling systems, and transportation. For one home- and one transportation-related energy use, list three ways to help reduce consumption, reduce your carbon footprint, and be a better steward of this resource. 
    Resource: Your Carbon Footprint (video)
  • (c) List five ways you and your family could reduce energy consumption in your home, such as adjusting your thermostat, window shades, opening windows, reducing hot-water temperature, and minimizing water consumption. Identify the benefits and risks of each idea and implement if possible. 
    Resource: Save Energy (video) 
6.  Stuff. Do ONE of the following and discuss with your counselor: 
Resources:Decluttering (video)
Why Do We Have So Much Stuff? (video)
  • (a) Create a list of 15 items of your personal "stuff." Classify each item as an essential need (such as soap) or a desirable want (such as a video game). Identify any excess "stuff" you no longer need, working with your family, if possible. Donate, repurpose, or recycle those items you can.
  • (b) List five ways having too much "stuff" affects you, your family, your community, AND the world. For each of the five ways, consider the following aspects: the financial impact, time spent, maintenance, health, storage, and waste generation. Identify practices that can be used to avoid accumulating too much "stuff."
  • (c) Research the impact waste has on the environment (land, water, air). Find out what the trash vortex is and how it was formed. Explain the number system for plastic recyclables and which plastics are more commonly recycled. Identify the average lifespan of one electronic device in your household, and whether it can be recycled in whole or part. 
    Resources: Pacific Garbage Patch (video)
    Know Your Plastics (video)
    Recycling E-Waste (video)
7.  Do TWO of the following and discuss with your counselor: 

Instructors

Travis Tempel

Sustainability Instructor

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Location

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1515 Poplar Drive, Reston, VA, USA

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