This fall, members of nonprofit organization Keep Montgomery County Beautiful have helped launched a new affiliate nonprofit group—Keep Magnolia Beautiful—with a goal to beautify the Greater Magnolia area.

“For this organization to succeed, we not only have to have board members, but we’ve got to have people who take leadership roles,” interim KMB Co-Chairwoman Charlotte Riser Harris said. “We are looking for members or sponsorships that would go to Keep Montgomery County Beautiful for the benefit of Keep Magnolia Beautiful. Any sponsorships or donations are tax-deductible.”

The new organization hosted an informational meeting Sept. 30 at the West Montgomery County Community Development Center in Magnolia. The mission of KMCB and KMB is to enhance the community through litter cleanups and recycling projects, waterway and green space conservation and beautification improvements.

KMB’s first community project—an estimated $20,000 beautification installation in front of the Malcolm Purvis Library in Magnolia—will be held Nov. 14. As part of the project, 1,000 native plants and trees, irrigation and lighting will be installed with help from local Girl Scout troops, county officials and community volunteers, Harris said.

“The county is going to do the preparation work and put the pipes in for irrigation and the lighting and all of that,” Harris said. “We are raising money right now. The budget is down to about $18,000 or $19,000. We’ve got one grant from Lowe’s [Home Improvement], and we haven’t heard back yet from one through H-E-B.”

KMCB, which was founded in 2004 as an umbrella organization to the other area beautification groups, will oversee KMB and disperse funds to the organization through a fiscal sponsorship agreement, Harris said.

KMCB board members Harris and Glen Buckley are helping to kickstart KMB this fall through interim positions. In January, the new Magnolia organization, which has four non-interim members, will fill its board with a total of five to seven members over the next few months, she said.

The new Magnolia-specific organization was derived from a KMCB strategic plan created in 2011, Harris said.

“The biggest thing is to spread the word, and find people who are passionate and interested in this kind of thing,” Harris said. “We need to get as many people involved to make this successful. I think there’s a lot of passion in the community about our environment and making it look more beautiful.”

In addition, Buckley has helped launch a spinoff group to work in tandem with KMCB, the Lake Creek Greenway Partnership. The new organization, which offers a nine-member board, is holding its first community forum Oct. 12 at H-E-B on FM 1488 in The Woodlands.

The Lake Creek Greenway Partnership is moving forward with plans to preserve and transform nearly 5,000 acres of land along Lake Creek from I-45 to FM 149. About 603 acres are already preserved by conservation easements, bankruptcy court agreements or as a part of a development commons, Buckley said.

For more information on Keep Montgomery County Beautiful and Keep Magnolia Beautiful, visit www.kmcbtexas.org.