Advancement

Advancement & Awards

Scouting provides a series of surmountable obstacles and steps in overcoming them through the advancement method. The Scout plans their advancement and progresses at their own pace as they meet each challenge. The Scout is rewarded for each achievement, which helps him gain self-confidence. The steps in the advancement system help a Scout grow in self-reliance and in the ability to help others.

Use this page and the information on it to help you choose your path to advancement in scouting. You should record all of your rank advancement in your Scout Handbook. Also, advancement is up to the individual scout, not the troop. A great deal of information to help you advance is gathered here. A good place to start is your Hand Book. Additional information can be found at the Scouting America National Website.

Special opportunities are also available for the scout to try. These include many different areas of interest. Listed to the right side of this page are some of the different awards that a scout can earn in this area.

Merit Badges offer the scout a multitude of different career and special interest areas that they can choose from. Some merit badges are required for different rank advancement (Star, Life and Eagle Scout).

Click on Merit Badge

The Western New York Scout Council sponsors many different Merit Badge courses over the course of the year. Listed below are links and info for most of these Merit Badges. You can always find more info at the WNYSC Website .

As with all Merit Badges, you are required to have a signed Merit Badge Card by your Scoutmaster. It is very important that Scouts keep these cards as a record and proof of having earned the Merit Badge.

If you want to work on a Merit Badge, it is recommended that you select the Merit Badge of your choice and then contact the Counselor for that badge. You can choose a counselor from within the troop if someone is a counselor for that badge. You may also let any of the leaders of the troop know what badge you are planning on working on and they help guide you if you need it. The Current GNFC MB Counselor list can be located on Scoutbook. When you log into Scoutbook, select Troop 931 then scroll down that page and look for MB Counselor List.

Merit Badges Available through the Council

Landscape Architecture

Merit Badge College

A merit badge college is an event where several different merit badges are being offered that you can sign up for. This event is being held on January 11, 2025. You can sign up for and view the merit badges being offered at this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4EADA723A5FA7-51021821-merit#/

Please be sure to look at the pre-class work for any badge that you may need to complete.

Nature Wanderer Online Classes

We offer many merit badges for Scouting America Scouts. Our naturalists are registered merit badge counselors for most of the nature related merit badges.

Upcoming BSA Scout Merit Badge Workshops...

ONLINE - Environmental Science
ONLINE - Bird Study
ONLINE - Mammal Study
ONLINE - Photography
ONLINE - Sustainability
ONLINE - Nature
ONLINE - Indian Lore
ONLINE - Fish and Wildlife Management
ONLINE - Forestry

*** To register for a Nature Wanderer Online Merit Badge Workshop, please click here. If you see a class you want to take, you can sign up for that class using Paypal.