Ideas, SMART Goals, & Resources for Award Participants

What Could Inspire You to Excellence?

Section Links

Skills Section

Physical Recreation

Voluntary Service

Physical Recreation

Voluntary Service

Physical Recreation

Adventurous Journey

Physical Recreation

Gold Residential Project

SMART Goals & Planning Resources

Skills Section Ideas

Skills Activity Ideas

Here are some ideas to jump-start your thinking about your Skills Section focus area for the Award program..

Conservation and nature- ancestral wilderness skills, navigation, first aid, fishing, gardening, agriculture, astronomy
Community skills- Public speaking, teaching/facilitating, organizing
Performance arts- Singing, learning to play an instrument, acting, improv, voice acting
Arts and crafts- basket making, painting, weaving, ceramics, model building, photography
Sports-related- sports officiating, coaching
Communication- film and video, vlogging, blogging, journalism, languages, podcasting

Project Imo can help deliver many of these for you. Be sure to talk to your Award Leader about possible Project Imo workshops and programs.

The Purpose of the Skills Section

You can choose to improve an existing skill or try something completely new! Anything is fair game as you develop your interests and enhance your practical and social skills.

The skill you choose should not focus on you as an athlete or participant in athletic or physical recreation realms. You will develop those skills in the Physical Recreation Section.

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Voluntary Service Section Ideas

Voluntary Service Activity Ideas

Here are some ideas to jump-start your thinking about your Voluntary Service Section focus area for the Award program..

Conservation and nature- trail clean ups, assisting a nonprofit or school with research, creating a citizen science project about birds
Community help- Park cleanups, dog walking for people in your community or an animal shelter, visiting and supporting people in need, such as folks who are older or have disabilities
Peer and child support- Be a teacher or tutor in a subject you love, assist with local youth organizations as a peer leader
Sports-related- sports officiating, coaching
Volunteer for a charity- youth groups, hospitals, local care homes

Project Imo can help deliver many of these for you. Be sure to talk to your Award Leader about possible Project Imo workshops and programs.

The Purpose of the Voluntary Service Section

The Award encourages us to spend time volunteering in our communities. This both benefits others and contributes to own own growth and well-being.

If you are planning to volunteer as a coach to satisfy your Skills Section, consider exploring a new avenue to satisfy your Volunteer Section

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Physical Recreation Section Ideas

Physical Recreation Activity Ideas

Here are some ideas to jump-start your thinking about your Physical Recreation Section focus area of your Award program.

Conservation and nature- hiking, trail running, paddle sports such as canoeing or kayaking
Team sports- football, soccer, volleyball, baseball, hockey, wrestling, and many more
Martial arts- karate, judo, boxing, taekwondo, and many more
Athletics- running, track & field, strength training & conditioning, swimming
Animal sports- horse riding, dog training
Individual pursuits such as dancing, cycling, tumbling

Project Imo can help deliver many of these for you. Be sure to talk to your Award Leader about possible Project Imo workshops, coaching, and programs.

The Purpose of the Physical Recreation Section

Physical Recreation encourages healthy physiological behavior and develops the self-esteem, team skills, and confidence in those who participate.

If you are already on a team or join a team, this may work for this Section, but you must still create unique SMART. goals, track performance, and demonstrate growth as an athlete and person. Your results for the purposes of the Award are based upon your individual growth, not team performance.

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Adventurous Journey

The "AJ"

Unlike other fully-individualized activities in the Award, the Adventurous Journey (or “AJ”) is a team effort in a cohort of 4-7 Participants. You will cooperate to prepare for, train, plan, and undergo your AJ together. AJ’s are typically 2-4 days long in an unfamiliar, outdoor place.

Participants will select their journey location and type of AJ from options provided by Project Imo. These can be hiking and backpacking or even canoeing. The group can choose an Expedition or an Exploration. Expeditions are focus on the practice of travel with a purpose. Explorations focus on concepts such as science and observation during the travel.

Project Imo’s staff are highly trained outdoor professionals who will act as trainers, supervisors, and assessors throughout this phase of the Award. Participants will receive the training they need before undertaking a Practice Journey and eventually their AJ. Trainings may include learning American Red Cross First aid & CPR, learning gear and equipment essentials, practicing basic map & compass navigation, planning for wilderness travel and safety, and team building & group leadership development.

Examples of Adventurous Journey Aims are:

Hiking Expedition in the White Mountains of NH

Aim: To study the different types of vegetation at different altitudes and different environments.

Preparation: Collect pictures of flowers, bushes, trees and herbs with notes on where they can be found (e.g. different types of flowers in valleys vs. higher rocks, etc.); prepare plan list of most important species.

During the journey: Take pictures of vegetation compared with prepared notes, tick species off the prepared list, mark any unexpected things on the map.

Review: Check planning list and compare the photos taken in certain places to prepared collection.

Presentation: A video of different areas: valleys, ridges, and rocks in the alpine zone with pictures of the vegetation found, with short presentation on what was found where and why.

Canoeing & Camping Exploration in Eastern Connecticut

Aim: To test the water quality in different lakes, streams and shallow sea water and observe aquatic wildlife.

Preparation: Ask science teacher to explain about what you expect in different samples and how to collect and preserve the samples. Prepare list of potential species for observation.

During the journey: Collect sample tubes in different places, take a picture and mark places of collection on the map. Take video and photos of species found.

Review: Test the tubes and analyze findings (with help from science teacher).

Presentation: Show a map that indicates the water quality in different areas. Record and present a podcast about the methodology and what other things were found in the water samples.

The Purpose of the Adventurous Journey

Getting outside of your comfort zone will help you excel, innovate, strive, and achieve in many avenues of your life. The AJ sparks exploration and drives a sense of adventure as your small team plans, trains and undertakes a journey through an unfamiliar environment.

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Gold Residential Project

Your Residential Project

This section challenges Participants to undertake a shared activity or specific course with people they don’t know, in a residential setting away from home. This section is highly flexible but must be done with an organized group, registered charity, or Registered Activity Provider.

The Residential Project should take place over at least five consecutive days with a minimum of four nights spent away from home. There must be a specific course or shared activity where everyone in the group has the same aim and experience. During the project, Participants should be engaged in the evening through organized activities or casual socialization while cooking.

Project Imo may occasionally offer wilderness or camping residential projects to Participants. These Project Imo hosted programs could be used to fulfill your Gold Residential requirement. The purpose of the Gold Residential Project can be met in a variety of way such as:

Conservation and nature skills: a large project with a local environmental trust, attending a climate conference as a youth representative, helping build or preserve trails.
Service to others: volunteering at a residential school or remote outdoor education center, undertaking a voluntary teaching or service placement overseas.
Learning and self-development: taking part in a residential camp with a focus area such as coding or community organizing, assisting with a field research project.

The Purpose of the Gold Residential Project

Completed at the Gold level, the Residential Project provides you the opportunity to learn how to work with people of different backgrounds, develop skills and build confidence living in new environments.

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SMART Goals & Planning Resources

A good plan, a commitment to succeed, grit in the face of adversity, self-assessment, and desire to grow.

Practice makes progress. This is the way.

Setting SMART Goals

What are SMART goals?

The SMART in SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Defining these parameters as they pertain to your goal helps ensure that your objectives are attainable within a certain time frame. This approach eliminates generalities and guesswork, sets a clear timeline, and makes it easier to track progress and identify missed milestones.

The SMART goal framework ensures that Participants set realistic and achievable goals that bring both purpose and challenge to each section of the Award. Both Award Leaders and Assessors can provide you with support and feedback on your goals.

Example goal in the Skill Section:

I will learn to play the guitar.

Example SMART goal:

In the next three months of my Bronze level, I will learn open strings and tuning, basic chords and scales, and 1 simple song.

Example goal in the Voluntary Service Section:

I will volunteer at a local animal rehabilitation clinic.

Example SMART goal:

In the next six months of my Silver level, I will volunteer at the local wildlife rehab where I will help them transfer data from paper to an online system, repair a shed, and learn to take care of opossum.

Example goal in the Physical Recreation Section:

I will run every week.

Example SMART goal:

In the next twelve months of my Gold level, I will run at least two times a week to improve my personal best mile time by 20 seconds by running intervals, strength training, and increasing my flexibility.

Find Your Groove

You don't have to go it alone, but it is your journey to take. Your Award Leader is always there to facilitate your journey through the Award program you have created.

We will help you develop your program, set SMART goals, and navigate the Award's Online Record Book.

Step 1. Identify your need.

Step 2. Ask "what are my resources"?

Step 3. Dig.

Step 4. Develop a path to fill your need.

Step 5. Never leave a question that's stumping you unasked. That's what your Award Leader is here for. We'll help you find the answer.