That's great, but the question posed by the Cornell Study is, will your son's appreciation for the environment stay with him into adulthood, as a result of Scouting?
As a Scouter myself, I can say that Scouting has very much increased my awareness of environmental issues (altho I still think Algore is full of hot air!).
But, in my own case, I don't think I developed that awareness as a child in Cub Scouts -- it came about due to my involvement as an adult.
I hope your son sticks with it!
Perhaps you're right. Come to think of it, he has always been this way. He helped a dove out of our old Arizona room and was fascinated when it let him hold it. We found a nearly featherless baby sparrow on our back porch and could not find a nest. When we called his dad and told him about it, he said it was probably going to die. He took care of it all night, then it was sent to a bird rescue home. We were told if it made it through the night it would survive. He also helped nurse a 4 week old kitten back to health, who was one of the homeliest cats in the world, but is now one of the prettiest since her fur grew back and her eyes are open. He also likes to study different bugs and identifys a lot of desert animals.
I guess I never thought of it, since we haven't had a chance to camp or hike in the wild in years.
He thought it was excited to go scout camp and find out that Arizona has robins.