(WXIA) -- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has brought back its Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest for 2014.

This year's theme is Plug into Nature, emphasizing the importance of experiencing wildlife and plants firsthand.

All Georgia students in grades kindergarten through 5 are invited to enter the contest. The top 12 winners' posters will be displayed on the DNR's Flickr site and at the Go Fish Education Center in Perry during the first two weeks in May.

Contest entries are due Apr. 16. Three winners will be picked in four categories (kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-4, grade 5).

Visit georgiawildlife.com for more information about the contest.

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Emergency Management Agency stresses the importance of safety just before Hurricane Preparedness Week hits. 

During the week, May 26 - June 1, education will be offered to all residents through Georgia who plan to camp outdoors, throw cookouts and spend time at the lakes or in the backyard. Severe weather can make its way here anytime, a Ready Georgia spokeswoman said, which puts Georgians at risk statewide.

ATLANTA -- This year's Sweep the Hooch event is expected to be the biggest one yet.

The annual Chattahoochee River clean-up to slated to attract nearly 600 volunteers at a number of locations along the water.

Last year, Sweep the Hooch participants gathered up nearly four tons of trash.

"This is the kind of hands-on work that Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and our partners do that reaffirms our commitment to keeping our river clean," Chattahoochee Riverkeeper executive director Sally Bethea said in a statement. "We'll have volunteers paddling the river, wading in the water and combing the shoreline for trash."

Clean-up locations along the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area run from Buford Dam to Paces Mill.

Sweep the Hooch will be Saturday, Apr. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To sign up as an individual or with a group, visit sweepthehooch.org.