Survival Scoutcraft Badge

Getting lost, delayed, or separated from your group can happen when you least expect it. The Survival Scoutcraft Badge teaches you how to stay calm, think clearly, and make good decisions when faced with an unexpected outdoor situation. You will learn how to protect yourself from the elements, find and purify water, build a shelter, light a fire safely, navigate using natural clues, and recognise hazards in the environment. Most importantly, you will discover that survival is not about being a hero—it is about being prepared, resourceful, and making sensible choices to keep yourself and others safe.

Badge Requirements

Stop, Think, Survive - Survival Mindset
1. Explain the four basic needs in a survival situation and why they are important:
  - Protection
  - Water
  - Warmth
  - Food
2. Describe the actions you should take if you become lost, delayed, or separated from your group while outdoors.
3. Assemble a small personal survival kit containing suitable essential items for a day hike and explain how each item could help you in an emergency.
4. Take part in a survival scenario exercise set by your Examiner and demonstrate how you would assess the situation, prioritise your needs, and decide on appropriate actions.
Shelter and Stay Safe - Shelter Building
1. Build a simple weatherproof emergency shelter suitable for overnight use in your local environment using natural materials, a tarpaulin, poncho, or groundsheet, and sleep in it alone or with another Scout for at least one night. Demonstrate how to leave the site in a natural condition after dismantling it.
2. Demonstrate how your shelter provides protection from the likely environmental hazards in your area, such as sun, wind, rain, or cold conditions.
3. Explain why selecting a suitable shelter site is important and identify at least three hazards that should be avoided when choosing a location.
Fire from Scratch - Firecraft
1. Using one of the following methods - flint and steel, friction, a magnifying lens, or a battery and steel wool, or any other method approved by the Examiner - light a fire and keep it burning for at least ten minutes.
2. Demonstrate how to:
  - Select and prepare a safe fire site.
  - Build and light a suitable fire for outdoor use.
  - Manage and control the fire safely while it is burning.
  - Extinguish the fire completely.
  - Leave the site clean with no visible trace of the fire.
Cook in the Wild - Bush Cooking
1. Prepare and cook a simple, balanced meal and a twist, damper, roosterkoek, or similar bread over an open fire using raw ingredients, without using modern cooking utensils or aluminium foil.
2. Demonstrate how to safely prepare, cook, and store food in an outdoor environment to prevent contamination and food-borne illness.
3. Demonstrate safe fire-side cooking practices, including the safe handling of hot cookware, food, and open flames, and leave the cooking area clean and dispose of waste responsibly, following Leave No Trace principles.
Every Drop Counts - Water Skills
1. Explain why water is essential in a survival situation and describe the effects of dehydration.
2. Demonstrate one method of collecting water from the environment suitable to your local conditions, such as rainwater collection, a solar still, or a condensation trap.
3. Construct a simple improvised water filter and explain its limitations, understanding that filtration removes particles but does not necessarily make water safe to drink without further purification.
4. Demonstrate one method of making water safer to drink, such as boiling, filtration, purification tablets, or solar disinfection (SODIS).
5. Explain at least three risks associated with drinking untreated water and how they can be avoided.
Nature as Your Compass - Navigation
1. Demonstrate how to determine direction without using a compass, GPS, or map by using one clearly demonstrated natural method during the day and one method at night:
  - Sun
  - Shadow stick
  - Natural features
  - Southern Cross to indicate south at night.
  - Or any other method approved by the Examiner.
2. Explain the advantages and limitations of each method and describe situations in which they may be unreliable.
3. Explain why natural navigation skills are useful in an outdoor emergency.
Stay Alert, Stay Safe - Hazard Awareness
1. Identify three venomous animals (such as snakes, spiders, or scorpions) and two hazardous plants found in your region that may cause injury, irritation, or illness.
2. Describe the risks associated with each hazard and explain how to avoid injury when hiking, camping, or exploring outdoors.
3. Demonstrate the appropriate safe actions to take if you encounter a potentially dangerous animal in the wild.
4. Explain when and how to seek help in an outdoor emergency, including the information that should be provided to rescuers.
Know Before You Eat - Wild Foods
Knowing what not to eat is often more important than knowing what you can eat. If you are not absolutely certain what it is, do not eat it!
1. Explain why it can be dangerous to eat unknown plants, fruits, berries, mushrooms, or other wild foods.
2. Explain at least three risks of misidentifying wild foods, including poisoning, allergic reactions, and confusion with similar-looking species.
3. Describe what you should do if you are uncertain whether a wild food is safe to eat.
4. Discuss how to protect the natural environment by avoiding unnecessary damage to wild plants and respecting protected species and areas.
Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Found - Signalling
1. Demonstrate three methods of attracting attention in an emergency, including:
  - One visual signal e.g. signalling mirror, torch, brightly coloured clothing, or signal fire.
  - One sound signal e.g. whistle, voice, or other recognised distress signal.
  - One ground-to-air signal suitable for attracting the attention of aircraft or search teams.
2. Demonstrate the recognised international distress signal and explain what it means.
3. Explain when emergency signals should be used and why it is important to remain in one location, where safe to do so, after signalling for help.

Recommended Age Range: The Survival Scoutcraft Badge is recommended for Scouts aged 11 to 14 years. This badge is designed for Scouts who are developing their confidence and independence in the outdoors. The requirements introduce practical survival skills in a safe and supervised manner while encouraging observation, problem-solving, teamwork, and self-reliance. It provides a strong foundation for more advanced survival adventures and the Survival Scout Interest Badge.

Badge Examiner: Training and examination for this badge should be conducted by a suitably qualified individual who has relevant experience or formal training in the specific field of expertise being assessed. The ideal examiner should be an experienced Scouter, outdoor instructor, bushcraft practitioner, wilderness guide, conservation staff, or other suitably skilled adult with practical survival experience. Examiners should be familiar with outdoor safety, environmental responsibility, and youth development, and should ensure that all activities are conducted in a safe and age-appropriate manner.

Note to the Examiner:

Assessment should focus on the Scout's understanding and safe practical application of basic survival skills rather than advanced survival techniques or endurance.
Wherever possible, examiners are encouraged to assess requirements such as shelter building, fire lighting, navigation exercises, and signalling as Patrol-based challenges. While not a requirement, this approach promotes teamwork, leadership, communication, and shared problem-solving in authentic Scouting situations.
Practical skills should be demonstrated as part of realistic outdoor or simulated survival scenarios that require Scouts to assess the situation, prioritise their actions, and make sensible decisions.
The emphasis of this badge is on prevention, preparedness, and self-reliance. Scouts should demonstrate how to avoid survival situations through good planning and sound judgement, as well as how to respond appropriately if they become lost, delayed, or separated from their group.
For Requirement 5 (Every Drop Counts), Scouts should understand that filtering water alone does not necessarily make it safe to drink. Where drinking water is prepared, appropriate purification methods should also be demonstrated or explained.
For Requirement 8 (Know Before You Eat), wild edible plants, fruits, fungi, and other natural food sources should only be identified under the guidance of a suitably knowledgeable person. Scouts must never be encouraged to eat any wild food unless its identity has been confirmed with certainty. The emphasis is on safe identification, responsible environmental practices, and recognising the dangers of misidentification.

Safe From Harm: Whilst completing the requirements for this badge, Scouts must not be placed in hazardous or dangerous situations under any circumstances. All activities must comply with SCOUTS South Africa Safe from Harm framework and be supervised by responsible adults. Participation should offer meaningful learning or service experiences while ensuring the Scout's safety and well-being at all times.

Badge Requirements in printable PDF format

Survival Scoutcraft Badge (PDF)

Next Steps - Where This Badge Leads

Completion of this badge is required for the following Scoutcraft and/or Interest Badges:

Survival Scout Interest Badge

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