Surveying Merit Badge for Boy Scouts

Recently, TSPS was contacted by the father of a Houston-area boy scout who was interested in obtaining all his merit badges, however the boy scout was having a difficult time finding assistance in assembling a Surveying Merit Badge class to help fulfill the requirements needed. TSPS reached out to Heather Sides and she approached Cameron Lowe, RPLS, PLS, the Director of Texas Young Surveyors, and Chuck Jurica RPLS, PLS, PS a former Boy Scout and the father of a Webelo Scout.

Chuck Jurica reported back with the following: 

"I reviewed the tasks required to fulfill the Merit Badge which included:

• First Aid and different types of injuries that may occur while surveying
• Find and marking the corners of a five sided figure, including setting up an instrument and recoding angles and distances.
• Draw a scale map of the survey
• Write a metes and bounds description
• Use on of your found corners as a benchmark, assume an elevation and determine the elevations of the other corners
• Pull a deed of a piece of property
• Discuss GPS
• Discuss the importance of surveying and the various types of surveying and mapping

Cameron and I decided a park in Pearland would be a good place to hold our class. We arrived at the job site early to lay out the property corners for the Scouts to find and used 5-3" hub and tack hammered in the ground.

When the scouts arrived, we had them flag up five laths, then look for the hubs and hammer the lath in place once found. Once we assigned numbers to each corner, Cameron went thru the proper technique of setting up a tripod and total station. After breaking the gun down, we had a scout set up the legs and gun over our first point, the other scout ran the rod so we could turn angles and shoot distances. The scouts took turns breaking the gun down, setting it up, turning angles, shooting distances and running the rod.

The scouts were also required to locate some features using angles and distances, we used a tree and fence line that were nearby.

Once we ran our traverse, we had the scouts takes turns running levels thru the corners. Cameron showed them how to set up the level and the proper way to keep level notes.

After the field work was completed, we used the notes and sketches the scouts recorded and completed a scaled map and wrote a metes and bounds description.

With the field portion completed, we had a good discussion with the scouts covering the different types of first-aid challenges surveyors come across in the field and how to deal with them. We covered items ranging from sunburns to snake bites.

We also discussed the exciting new technology (from drones to sonar) that is being introduced to the industry. We also discussed when and where it is a good place to use GPS.

Cameron and I also talked about the different kinds of land surveying we do daily and some of the projects we were currently working. We also expressed what a rewarding career we have in the surveying industry and the need for young people.

Cameron and I both left feeling like we opened some young minds to the possibility of surveying as a future career."

Thank you to Cameron and Chuck for all their hard work and for taking the time to volunteer and help the Boy Scouts earn their merit badges!