The snow finally arrived, and there are oodles of opportunities for outdoor fun in Southern Wisconsin.

Madison has no shortage of ice skating rinks, and some great places to go sledding. Check here to get current conditions.

If your New Year's resolution is to recycle more this year, and you happen to live in the city of Madison, you're in luck.

Starting now, you can put a wider variety of items into your green recycling bin.

Here are some of the highlights:

Dairy tubs and deli containers: The city of Madison will now accept all plastic items, numbered 1 through 7. This includes clear plastic clamshell packages and the lids to those containers.

Plastic bags: While there already was an ordinance in place requiring you to recycle plastic bags, you had to take them to a drop-off location. Now you can throw them in your recycling bin. You must put all the plastic bags inside another plastic bag and tie it shut. (This includes retail store bags, bread and newspaper bags, and clear plastic film. No black or dark green bags however).

Various other items: pots and pans, metal facuets and pipes less than 18 inches in length.

Do your holiday decorating plans include those newfangled LED lights?

If  you've got old lights to get rid of..recycle them! Madison officials have announced a new Christmas light recycling program. Recycling Coordinator George Dreckmann says you can drop off old strings of lights at the city's recycling facilities on West Badger Road or Sycamore Avenue.

Madison will accept any light strings as well as old extension cords. If you have older lights with large bulbs, you should remove the bulbs, but you don't have to remove them from strings of mini-lights.

One more recycling tip: you CAN recycle used wrapping paper as well. Just throw it in your green recycling bin. Or you could fold it up and save it like your grandma used to do. (One exception: metallic wrapping paper is not recyclable.)

More info here.

There may not be snow on the ground, but the list of ski areas that are making snow and open on weekends continues to grow.

Check out the Wisconsin Snow Conditions Report here.

The city of Madison is looking for volunteers to help maintain the city's ice rinks throughout the winter. This partnership between citizens and the parks department allows the ice to be skate-ready much more quickly! More info here.

The UW Arboretum continues to offer fun, educational programs and tours throughout the winter. Click here to check out the schedule.

Get 2012 off to a healthy start by taking part in the New Year's Day Dash coming up January 1st at Quaker Steak and Lube. Get the scoop here.

A new study suggests cutting out short auto trips and replacing them with mass transit and active transport would be even better for you than you think. The study just published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives hails the major health and economic benefits biking to work brings about.

The biggest health benefit was due to replacing half of the short trips with bicycle trips during the warmest six months of the year, saving about $3.8 billion per year from avoided mortality and reduced health care costs for conditions like obesity and heart disease.

Make plans now to start off your Thanksgiving at the Berbee Derby! It's a 10k run and 5k walk...burn off some calories early and then treat yourself to an extra piece of pumpkin pie.

If you like birdwatching, keep an eye out for loons in the northern half of the state. Common Loons stop over in Wisconsin on their way to the Gulf Coast for the winter.