The following is a guest blog from Alex Dunbar and the Friends of Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center.

You had that dream, again, last night. Remember… The one where you are outdoors for the entire day surrounded by nature’s many splendors: trees, flowers, other plants, birds, turtles, critters aplenty. You were not alone either. Many other happy people were in the dream with you, also enjoying a day in the big outdoors.

As you explored the outdoors, you discovered a group of people called volunteers. These people were in your dream to support the many activities available to you: demonstrations, presentations, opportunities to touch and learn about the outdoors and nature. You liked these people and felt the calling to become a volunteer, too.

There are so many things to see and do. Look! It’s a majestic hawk coming in for a landing on its trainer’s hand. Look, over there are turtles and other critters waiting to meet you. That buzzing you hear are resident honeybees busily collecting nectar to transform into honey, while spreading pollen from one plant to another. And what’s with the whistle sounds? Oh, yes, archery is available on the archery range. Gem mining is also available. You soon realize you are in the midst of a BIG Outdoors event.

Before you could see and do it all, you awoke from your dream. The happy feeling is still there. You want to go back to your dream. You want to become involved in a BIG Outdoors event. You are ready to go outdoors and begin enjoying nature’s wonders.

The good news is that while you may have thought all this was just a dream, in reality, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland’s Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center, at Camp Ilchester, is celebrating 10 years of providing outdoor education at its Annual BIG Outdoors Event on Sunday, April 22, 2018. You are invited to participate as a volunteer and/or attend as a guest. This is an all ages event for both guests and volunteers. The public is welcome, too. So bring your family and friends with you.

The BIG Outdoors Event is a great opportunity to showcase nature and outdoor-oriented Take Action projects. Perhaps you have a special outdoors or nature interest you would like to share with others. Let’s set you up with a booth at the BIG Outdoors Event. We can also guide you to information and education resources to use at a booth.

The Kris Dunbar Nature Art Center extension of Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center invites you to share your outdoor and nature-themed artwork at its annual Art Exhibition. You may also exhibit all artwork created as part of earning the Girl Scout Art in the Outdoors badges. For more information, please see our website: https://cdnc.shutterfly.com/artist.

For complete information on the BIG Outdoors Event, please visit our website: https://cdnc.shutterfly.com/boe.

We look forward to working with you at the BIG Outdoors Event!