Happy New Year! 2017 offers tremendous promise and opportunities whatever resolutions you have made for this year.

Starting a brand new year is like wiping the slate clean and giving us the chance to recreate our lives in the direction of our dreams. I hope, as you plan your resolutions today, that you consider adding volunteering to your list.

Not only is volunteering good for you by providing many health benefits, it also is a way for you to connect with the world and to do your part to make the world a better place for all of us. At Keep Liberty Beautiful we have a variety of activities to connect in 2017. Here are just a few coming up in the next several months:

The first major KLB event in 2017 is to make sure that all of our live Christmas trees are recycled into mulch. We currently have drop-off sites for undecorated trees throughout the county at all Liberty County Solid Waste and Recycling Sites, as well as the Liberty County Health Department on East Oglethorpe Highway and a site on Fort Stewart.

If you need the specific location nearest you, please check out our website www.keeplibertybeautiful.org. Citizens in Hinesville can also have their undecorated trees picked up at the curb.

Our annual Mulch Day will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Health Department.

When you take down your live tree and have removed the decorations drop your tree off for recycling. Assure that your tree does not become yard waste. Everyone who drop by will receive oak and dogwood tree seedlings and vegetable and flower seeds, while our supplies last.

In January and February, we will also be planting fruit trees in several public areas to increase opportunities for all citizens to have access to healthy fresh fruit.

For added fun, we will be offering a "Plant Fruit Trees for a Free Tree" Project. Any citizen who participates in the tree plantings will receive a free fruit tree to plant at home. It will be hands-on education about fruit trees.

This is a great way to give back to our community and to increase your tree canopy at home. We will providd more information on these events in the next few weeks.

In February, we will celebrate Georgia Arbor Day on the 17th and 18th by having our annual Tree Giveaways to encourage the planting of even more trees. We will have a selection of trees, including oaks, dogwoods and crepe myrtles.

Trees can be reserved ahead. Trees go fast, so mark your calendars now and watch for more information in the Courier and on our Facebook to participate.

Feb.18 will also be our quarterly Recycle It! Fairs from 9 a.m. to 1 pm in Walthourville, Midway, and Hinesville. Plan now to recycle any electronic and household goods so they do not end up in a landfill. We are also tentatively planning a Tire Amnesty Day for Liberty county citizens.

In March and April we will participate in the Great American Cleanup by partnering citywide cleanup days as well as a variety of cleanup events throughout the county to remove litter and blight. We want a clean and attractive community so considering participating in these events where you live.

On April 21 we will celebrate Earth Day with our 11th annual celebration at the YMCA Field from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. This is a fantastic family day full of games, crafts and activities designed for fun and education. And it is free, but it requires hundreds of volunteers. So, it is a wonderful way to for you to make a difference for our community.

In May, we will also have a series of Facebook native plants and friends quizzes and giveaways. It is sure to be a fun way to learn more about native plants and their benefits for our environment and a great way to get a free plant.

All of these events, as well as the other planting and educational activities that are a part of our mission at Keep Liberty Beautiful, require a host of volunteers. We invite you to get involved. I guarantee that you will be surprised at how much fun you can have doing good.

For more information, contact Keep Liberty Beautiful at 880-4888 or klcb@coastalnow.net or check out information on www.keeplibertybeautiful.org.