THE eco committee at St Albert's Primary in Pollokshields has a new, honorary member.

"We asked Nicola if she would like to join and she asked when our next meeting was," explains 10-year-old Alina Hussain, after a chat with Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

"She is very nice and asked all about what we were doing to make our school more energy efficient."

She adds: "We told her we switched the lights off and shut the doors, because it is important to save energy."

St Albert's was chosen from dozens of entries in our School Eco Makeover Competition to benefit from energy efficiency measures worth of up to £135,000.

The Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign teamed up with British Gas to award the cash as part of the company's Generation Green education programme, designed to help schools save energy and reduce their bills.

Karen Mackenzie, of Scottish Gas, said: "Streets Ahead and Generation Green are a great fit.

"Both are about encouraging people to think about their environments and how to improve them for the benefit of everyone.

"Generation Green is about inspiring young people to be curious about the future of energy, and what they learn in school, they take home to their families and wider communities, so the benefits are enormous.

"We are now working with St Albert's to see what measures can be introduced, such as solar panels, new room thermostats and a more efficient boiler."

The hard-working eco committee gave Ms Sturgeon a tour of the school to show her some of the environmentally friendly measures they have already introduced, including a greenhouse made of recycled plastic bottles and a fantastic indoor eco garden full of plantpots made from unusual objects.

Primary three teacher Antonia Brooks, who co-ordinates the committee, explained: "We asked parents and members of the community to donate anything we could turn into planters and we got some weird and wonderful stuff.

"We have a rainforest plant growing in a recycled toilet, welly boots, an old potty and a teapot full of plants. We even have a dog made out of old rubber boots."

The school also organises regular events, such as a Cans Film Festival (entry is only allowed if you crush a can to buy a ticket) and local litter-picks.

After meeting pupils and staff Ms Sturgeon said she had been impressed by the range of eco measures taken by St Albert's.

"Initiatives like the British Gas Generation Green programme and the Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign are hugely important and make a massive difference in local communities," she said.

"By educating young children about the benefits of energy efficiency, they take what they learn out into the wider community.

"The children at St Albert's Primary are fantastic and it's great to see such enthusiasm. They have worked very hard already and winning the competition will really boost their efforts."