IT IS time to reveal the inspiring individuals and great groups leading the way in making Glasgow a better place to live, work and play.

Today we reveal the finalists for the Glasgow Times Streets Ahead Awards – a celebration of community strength and diversity, supported by our partners Glasgow City Council, People Make Glasgow Greener, City Charitable Trust and City Building.

Here, we announce who has been shortlisted for Best Clean Up Campaign, Glasgow City Council Environmental Initiative, People Make Glasgow Greener and Best Community Initiative.

Tomorrow, we will reveal who is in contention for Best Community Garden, Glasgow City Council Green Business and Best School.

The winners will be announced at a virtual event on June 23.

The finalists for Best Clean Up Campaign are Denmilne Action Group, G3 Litter Free, Keep Drumchapel Tidy and Polish the Shields.

Fed up residents in Easterhouse set up Denmilne Action Group to tackle litter, neglected green spaces and overflowing bins in the area, and they have transformed local streets, and run community events. G3 Litter Free is based in Anderston, carrying out regular litter picks and improving the area for all. Keep Drumchapel Tidy was set up by Tanith Diggory and it has inspired local residents to take pride in their community. More than 100 people every month join Polish the Shields’ clean-ups, and littering in the area has been drastically reduced.

Gilded Lilys Waste to Wishes project, finalists in the Glasgow City Council Environmental Initiative category.

Gilded Lily's Waste to Wishes project, finalists in the Glasgow City Council Environmental Initiative category.

The four groups in the running for Glasgow City Council Environmental Initiative are Glasgow Play-Resource Association, Pollokshields Space Force, Pre-loved Uniforms and Waste to Wishes.

Glasgow Play-Resource Association’s scrapstore and craft activities help save three million tonnes of material from going to landfill each year, while Pre-Loved Uniforms supports disadvantaged families by recycling school uniforms in the community.

Members of the community furloughed during the pandemic set up Pollokshields Space Force to weed and rejuvenate the area’s green spaces, with outstanding results.

Susan Wilson, who is in the running for the People Make Glasgow Greener award.

Susan Wilson, who is in the running for the People Make Glasgow Greener award.

Waste to Wishes was Gilded Lily’s environmental awareness project, which brought Govan women together for a range of activities, and which has inspired a range of initiatives including upcycling and jewellery-making.

The finalists for People Make Glasgow Greener are Susan Wilson, Gorbals Men’s Shed, Beata Kolecka and Castlecroft Residents.

Susan is a one-woman powerhouse in Glasgow’s east end, bringing schools, nurseries, businesses and residents together on a whole range of growing and gardening projects.

Gorbals Men’s Shed brings together men who may be suffering from isolation and loneliness to work on a range of projects, including litter-picking and working with recycled wood.

Castlecroft Residents in Croftfoot work tirelessly to improve the local area, and have created a beautiful Poppy Lane which pays tribute to local people lost in both world wars.

An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand, finalists in Best Community Initiative.

An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand, finalists in Best Community Initiative.

Beata Kolecka is the inspirational driving force behind a clean-up campaign in Castlemilk park and woodlands, rallying neighbours and friends together for litter-picks and creating an area ‘Litter Plan’.

Best Community Initiative finalists are Kelvindale’s An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand, which encouraged local people to plant potatoes and come together for a community harvest; Baltic Street Adventure Playground, where hundreds of families and children come together to play, and to benefit from its community food hub and garden; Garden Revives (Ready Steady Grow Pollokshields), which transformed run-down tenement front gardens; men’s mental health group Men Matter Scotland, which carries out regular clean-ups in Drumchapel; Mount Florida Community Council, who have transformed Letherby Triangle into a fantastic community resource, with big plans for its future; and Mount Vernon Community Hall, whose dedicated volunteers have helped the area recover from vandalism by developing a fantastic community garden.

This content is brought to you in association with Glasgow City Council and City Building.