SCHOOLS across Glasgow have been enthusiastic Streets Ahead supporters since we launched our campaign two years ago.

From tree-planting to litter-picking, wildlife gardens to eco initiatives, pupils have tackled a whole range of issues under our campaign umbrella.

One of the secondary schools who led the way was Shawlands Academy.

The South Side school organised a raft of green-fingered and community-minded initiatives for its hard-working students over the last 12 months.

Third year pupils in the South Side school's XL group helped to plant 60 trees in Queen's Park as part of their Streets Ahead support.

Caragh Scott, 13, and Kieran Anwar, 14, joined classmates and countryside rangers for the project.

Caragh explained: "It was a great experience. We did a lot of preparation work in the classroom and then went into the park with the countryside rangers to carry out the planting.

"In the end we planted around 60 rowan, royal oak, cherry and birch trees."

Kieran added: "We split into two teams and worked hard for most of the day. It was great to see it all finished and it will look fantastic in the spring.

"We plan to go back to the park to do more Streets Ahead environmental work in the summer."

Pupils at Lyoncross Nursery in Crookston also worked hard to clean up their community, with action days to tackle litter, recycling projects and big gardening plans taking place all year.

Head teacher Pat McCulloch explained: "We hold an annual clean-up for pupils, parents and staff and it's always very well supported. We're lucky to have so many enthusiastic parents happy to help out.

"We've really been pushing to improve our own outdoor areas too, from redesigning the bicycle racks to introducing raised beds for the children to grow vegetables and flowers.

"The children and parents were determined to make a difference to their own grounds working with local community - so many areas have been left to the elements and suffered from vandalism, we now want to create something the whole community can be proud of."

She added: "Most of the area around the nursery is built-up so lots of the children don't have much garden space at home. Being able to learn about gardening and the outdoors here at the nursery has been great for them.

"Our open garden is a fantastic resource and we're keen to develop it and benefit as many of the children as possible.

"It's a great place to learn about bug and insect life, butterflies, and seed-planting.

"Streets Ahead is a great campaign because it gets people working together to create lovely green spaces in the city which will benefit everyone."