IS YOUR school Streets Ahead?

We want to hear from pro-active primaries, nifty nurseries and spectacular secondaries making a difference in their communities.

A schools award is one of eight given out at the annual Streets Ahead prizegiving ceremony.

This year's event takes place on June 11 and entries are already pouring in ahead of the closing date on May 7.

There will be awards, too, for the best garden, best clean-up campaign, best environmental initiative, best community garden, best community initiative and best business initiative and one overall winner will claim the grand prize on the night.

If you are looking for inspiration, take a leaf out of Whiteinch Primary's book.

It's already Streets Ahead thanks to its innovative approach to cleaning-up the community.

Pupils filmed their litter-picking activities as part of an environmental initiative supported by Clean Glasgow.

Clean Glasgow Neighbourhood Improvement and Enforcement Officer David Walker said: "The pupils at Whiteinch Primary came up with a really unusual and creative way of tackling litter problems.

"They made their own film while carrying out a clean-up of Victoria Park and showed it to the rest of the school. It was a fantastic event."

Clean Glasgow volunteers, who work hard to improve their communities, are inspiring people all over the city to play their part in the Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign.

More than 120,000 people have signed up to Clean Glasgow since the initiative began in 2007.

Together they have contributed 250,000 hours and carry out an impressive 350 clean-ups per month.

Regular volunteer Tahir Mohammed, who lives in Pollokshields, said: "I took part in some clean-ups after hearing about them through my local community council and then started to organise my own events.

Tahir adds: "We want our streets to be free of litter, fly tipping and vermin.

"We want to encourage residents to take responsibility and be environmentally friendly, which will increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill."

"Last year, we started quarterly clean up campaigns and this year, we are doing one on the first Saturday of every month."

Glasgow City Council Leader and chairman of Clean Glasgow, Gordon Matheson, said: "Clean Glasgow is an important campaign with one simple straightforward goal - to make every neighbourhood in our city a cleaner and safer place.

"We are achieving this thanks to the continued effort and support of our volunteers in maintaining and improving their community.

"They really are true ambassadors for a cleaner, safer Glasgow, taking an active and very visible role in their community. I hope they inspire others to play their part and organise a clean-up in their local area."

The Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign is also supported by Glasgow Housing Association, ScotRail, Scottish Fire and Rescue and City Charitable Trust.

To find out more, visit www.eveningtimes.co.uk

To nominate yourself or someone else for this year's Streets Ahead awards, visit the dedicated awards website at www.eveningtimesevents.com/streetsahead

You can also email lyndsay.wilson@heraldandtimes.co.uk or call 0141 302 7407.

The closing date is May 7 and the event takes place on June 11.