The Distinguished Conservation Service Award (DCSA) is the highest, most prestigious conservation award offered by Scouting America. It requires youth to organize & lead two significant conservation projects, in addition to other requirements. This course will present a detailed roadmap for Scouts BSA, Venturers & Sea Scouts who are considering pursuing the award. It will begin with how to find a DCSA Advisor, identify conservation concerns in your community, conduct research about the concern, and obtain council pre-approval.  

Background about the DCSA program: DCSA was created with the belief that truly exceptional conservation accomplishments that contribute significantly to natural resource conservation & environmental protection deserve recognition. DCSA projects are designed to achieve real, longterm, significant positive impacts on the environment. They are based on sound scientific principles & practices; have a strong community educational & outreach component; and contribute to conservation & environmental improvement in the local community, the region, or the nation.

Who should attend:

• scouts interested in pursuing DCSA
• scouters
• parents

Pre-requistes to attending the course:

• read the DCSA page
• read the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award Project Workbook
• read the NCAC blog about DCSA

Best practices

• Identify a DCSA Advisor
• The young person must follow the scientific approach by beginning with the identification of a conservation issue or need in the local area. Do not start with a project idea, start with a problem or need.
• The young person will compile or collect data and/or observations to better understand the conservation issue or need
• The young person will research the issue to identify ‘alternatives’, one of which will become the project
• Projects must be based on sound scientific principles and practices
• Projects must contribute to sound conservation and environmental improvement
• The young person will provide comprehensive observations showing the effect of the project on the identified conservation issue.
• The young person will demonstrate clearly outstanding efforts in planning, leadership, execution of plans, and involvement of others beyond the BSA unit
• The young person must provide opportunities to help others learn about natural resource conservation and environmental improvement
• In most cases, implementation of a traditional service project will not meet the requirements for the DCSA program
• The BSA training for a DCSA adviser is a great resource for interested youth, leaders and parents to get a better idea of the size, scope and time required for a single DCSA project