IT IS TIME to meet the men, women and children who add spirit and sparkle to communities all over Glasgow.

As the Evening Times and its partners, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Fire and Rescue, City Building and City Charitable Trust, prepare for our Streets Ahead Awards party at the People’s Palace Winter Gardens on June 19, we can reveal who will be competing for the trophies.

In the first of a two-part feature, today we will announce the finalists for the best garden, clean-up campaign and environmental initiative categories.

Tomorrow, we will tell you who is competing for the titles of best community garden, best green business, best community initiative and best school.

As well as the category awards, judges – who include representatives from all of our partners – will also present a special trophy on the night to the overall winner.

The three finalists in the Best Garden category are Stephen Docherty, who keeps the tiny tenement garden space outside his home in Langside looking beautiful; Robert Tibberts, of Castlemilk, who has worked hard to transform his garden in Castlemilk; and fellow Castlemilk residents John and Alison Watson, who inspire others with their lovely front garden.

Battling it out for the title of Best Clean Up Campaign are Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, Fans of Barrowland Park, Don’t Waste Woodlands, and Hayburn Play Park Association. Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association is a popular group in the Yorkhill area of the city thanks to their dedication to street clean-ups and community initiatives such as 5k runs.

In the snowstorms earlier this year, the young people were out in force, clearing streets and paths to the delight of their neighbours, who treated them all to boxes of chocolates as a reward.

The team behind Don’t Waste Woodlands has organised more than a dozen clean-ups in its area, while Fans of Barrowland Park continue to make an impact in the east end of the city, with clean-ups of the spectacular ‘album pathway’ which features a list of artists who have played in the Barrowland over the years.

Last year’s winner, Hayburn Play Park Association, has not rested on its laurels, having enjoyed another busy year of organising events, clean-ups and more in the much loved park.

Hayburn Play Park Association has also been shortlisted in the Glasgow City Council Environmental Initiative category, alongside John Maddison, a one-man clean-up whirlwind; Friends of Kelvindale Railway Station, who have created the city’s most unlikely art gallery and biodiversity hub; Thenue Communities, which welcomes 500 people every week to its fantastic range of initiatives including the new Calton Green Volunteers project; and South Seeds.

South Seeds was set up to support people on the south side of the city keen to tackle climate change.

In addition to creating community gardens and helping residents make their homes more energy efficient, the group works with local and national government to highlight the need for more action.

The group also runs gardening sessions, raised beds and has engaged more than 4000 people in the last five years, helping them to make their lives more sustainable.

“We do this by creating real opportunities such as showing residents how to control their energy demand and running gardening sessions in community gardens,” says general manager Lucy Gillie. “As well as contributing to the look and feel of the area, these changes improve residents’ lives.”

“It is clear our campaign continues to strike a chord with people all over the city, seven years on.

“The Evening Times and our generous partners, Glasgow City Council, City Charitable Trust, Scottish Fire and Rescue and City Building, are delighted we can pay tribute to the men, women and children working so hard to improve their communities for the benefit of all of us.”

l Don’t miss tomorrow’s Evening Times to meet the rest of this year’s fantastic Streets Ahead finalists.