ONE seed of inspiration can be all it takes to create a project that transforms lives, be that a residents' group, gardening project or standing up to be counted.

Today we feature three more examples of simple community ideas making a difference, in the west of Glasgow.

The Glasgow Community Champion Awards turn the spotlight on unsung heroes committed to change.

The west of the city is the second area the Awards scheme is visiting, and includes Yoker, Scotstoun, Knightswood, Temple, Anniesland, Blairdardie and Drumchapel.

We want to know about brilliant neighbours, outstanding young people, dedicated charity groups and inspired public service workers helping to make their communities champion.

The awards are a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police, Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, Glasgow Community Planning Partnership and the Evening Times.

The Glasgow Community Champion Awards will, over the next 10 months, visit 10 different areas of the city. We'll host local events in each area, naming local heroes in six categories.

The first event will take place at The Bridge in Easterhouse on Monday, November 17. The second event is at Drumchapel Community Centre on Kinfauns Drive on Tuesday, December 2.

Readers can play a part in deciding whose work is recognised by nominating individuals or teams who have made the community a better place.

All 60 local winners will be invited to a city-wide gala final at the City Chambers next September, where we'll crown Glasgow's overall Community Champions.

ALDERMAN ROAD COMMUNITY GARDENS

DOWN a small lane, hidden behind a row of shops in Knightswood is a thriving green space that's become a flourishing community hub.

The site measures only 70m by 12m and employs just three people. But in the two years since the Alderman Road Community Gardens have taken root, they have provided a lifeline to isolated members of the local community. How to enter WE'RE looking for community heroes living or working around Yoker, Scotstoun, Knightswood, Temple, Anniesland, Blairdardie and Drumchapel.

You can put yourself or your own group forward and the deadline for nominations is November 6.

DOWNLOAD YOUR ENTRY FORM HERE DOWNLOAD DETAILS HERE

Get in touch with our community team here: community@eveningtimes.co.uk , 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB, 0141 302 6524.

"A lot of people come in and say it's really laid back and relaxed," says project manager Val Black.

"They say it's like a wee oasis in the middle of Knightswood."

The gardens aim to provide a meaningful working environment for groups furthest from the job market, such as people with mental health problems or learning difficulties, long-term unemployed, lone parents and asylum seekers.

Around 25 volunteers regularly pitch in their efforts to help with the day-to-day maintenance of the garden and crops which are growing there.

The project is an offshoot of the Coach House Trust on Belmont Lane, which identifies gap sites to be redeveloped and in doing so provides a training and learning experience for volunteers.

Having lain derelict for more than two years following a fire, the Alderman Road garden now costs around £60,000 a year to operate.

Val and her two project workers - Kate Shaw and Paula McCabe - are investigating ways to cultivate the business, including gardening workshops for children and the elderly, selling Christmas trees, and supplying local shops and restaurants with the produce grown on their doorstep.

The gardens also undertake garden maintenance contracts and landscaping for local communities.

Alderman Road blossoms with a surprising range of vegetables, including lettuce, rocket, cucumber, courgettes, radishes, squashes, chilli peppers and tomatoes grown in the polytunnel, with hardier potatoes and parsnips grown outside.

The gardens also sell a range of plug' starter plants, and have an open door policy for anyone who might be interested in lending a green finger ... or simply sampling some of the produce.

"People have been really supportive of us," adds Val.

"We work with such a huge cross-section of people from the local area who normally wouldn't have a chance to mix."

BIGGEST RESOURCE IS THE LOCAL PEOPLE

FROM humble beginnings as a tool to provide childcare to local residents, Yoker Resource Centre has expanded to offer training, support groups, sports activities - and much more.

It was set up in 1983 by a group of residents aiming to breathe new life into an area badly affected by the decline of the shipbuilding industry.

It now occupies two Victorian buildings on Kelso Place, just off Dumbarton Road.

The original site provides childcare services to 21 pre-fives and afterschool to 47 youngsters, in addition to a drop-in advice centre, elderly forum and meeting place for Yoker Community Care for the Disabled.

In 1990, the community charity spearheaded the creation of Yoker Sports Centre on Speirshall Terrace, which is now managed by Culture and Sport.

Its crowning glory is the Yoker Community Campus, a £2.8million transformation of the 1877 Yoker Primary School, which had lain derelict for four decades, into a state-of-the-art facility.

The Campus opened in 2006 and now boasts offices, training accommodation, internet centre and café.

But none of this would have been possible without the dedication of the 40 staff and the drive of the local community.

Senior officer Sandy Busby said: "The resource I see here is the people - not the buildings or the projects.

"We can solve problems very quickly, which through an agency or the council would take a considerable amount of time because the bureaucracy would hold it back.

"If you get local people involved in local issues then you will get a result."

PUPILS TOOK CAMPAIGN TO HOLYROOD

WHEN they first took a stand against dawn raids on asylum seekers, no-one could have predicted the Glasgow Girls' efforts would be taught in schools.

But those seven former pupils of Drumchapel High School are still receiving support from youngsters who learn about their landmark campaign in the classroom.

Founding member Emma Clifford, of Knightswood, said: "They'll say they watched the documentary in class and it's nice when that happens.

"People have been campaigning for these things for years, but because we were seven wee school lassies and we were at the parliament telling then First Minister Jack McConnell what we wanted, it made a good story."

The campaign by the fifth and sixth-year pupils began in March 2005 with a petition objecting to the dawn raid on the family of schoolfriend Agnesa Murselaj, a Roma gypsy from Kosovo.

The Glasgow Girls then campaigned for more sensitive treatment of asylum seekers, twice visiting the Scottish Parliament and also winning Best Public Campaign at the Politician of the Year awards in 2005.

Agnesa's family were last month allowed to remain in Scotland.

A production company will next month film a three-minute short on the Glasgow Girls for Channel 4. The girls also featured in an award-winning BBC film, Tales From The Edge: The Glasgow Girls.

Key founder Amal Azzudin, 18, originally from Somalia, is now studying for an HNC in working with communities at Anniesland College, and Emma is in her third year at Strathclyde University studying journalism and politics.

Emma said: "It's about taking a stand. You might just make a difference."