In support of Glasgow City Council’s new £4 million Clean Glasgow campaign, pupils from Blairdardie Primary, Sandaig Primary, Notre Dame High, and St Thomas Aquinas Academy rolled up their sleeves to tackle ‘grime crime’ in their school
Clean Glasgow aims to instil pride in city residents and punish people who break the law by littering, fly tipping, spraying graffiti and allowing their dogs to foul streets and parks.
Glasgow City Council’s campaign has brought a great reaction from the public. The first two months of the year-long campaign have so far seen almost 900 volunteers take part in 32 neighbourhood clean-ups, and a total of 60 local events arranged. Over 400 fixed penalty notices have been issued to offenders since the launch on February 19.
Now the four West End schools have joined in. Pupils from St Thomas Aquinas were the first to kick off in the battle to clean up West End schools and their surrounding areas. Pupils were given equipment from Glasgow City Council’s Clean Glasgow team to help them target areas in their school blighted with litter. Pupils from Notre Dame, Blairdardie and Sandaig followed suit, targeting problem areas within their school grounds
The clean ups will raise the awareness of pupils about their environment, instill a sense of civic responsibility and help to create a happier and healthier environment in which to work and study.
Andrew McSorley, head teacher at St Thomas Aquinas said: “I am delighted with the enthusiasm shown by the students and the huge amount of effort they have put in to cleaning up their school. We have 950 pupils and take in the largest catchment area in Glasgow, so we believe that it is crucial to promote responsible citizenship and encourage them to take responsibility for their school and to show the local community that they can maintain a well kept and clean environment. “The Clean Glasgow campaign has greatly raised our awareness that we need to take more responsibility to help maintain a good standard of cleanliness and we hope to stage these clean ups on a regular basis.”
Gordon Bryce, deputy head teacher at Blairdardie Primary School said: “I am delighted with the enthusiasm, dedication and effort which the pupils have shown in coordinating and leading this clean up in their school. The clean up is a great way to get the children involved practically and encourage them to take pride in their school, providing them with a sense of responsibility and citizenship. It is hoped that these clean ups will continue on a regular basis. Clean Glasgow has raised awareness that we are all responsible for creating and maintaining a cleaner environment.”
Anne Pickard, deputy head teacher at Notre Dame said: “Our girls have really pulled together and enthusiastically rolled up their sleeves to carry out the clean up. Their effort and determination to make a real difference to the school grounds has been fantastic. We really wanted to raise their awareness and instil a sense of civic responsibility.. Today was an important first step. We have set a date in June and now hope to continue our efforts and move beyond the school grounds into the community to create a cleaner environment within the West End of the City. It is important that young people learn to take responsibility for their environment.”
Sandra Stewart, acting principal teacher at Sandaig Primary School said: “Our pupils have really rallied together and put a great deal of effort in to coordinating the clean up, which we hope will become a regular occurrence. The idea behind the clean up is to prompt the pupils to take pride in their school and wider local community. The Clean Glasgow campaign has really helped raise people’s awareness of the litter problem that blights our city, encouraging them to take responsibility for their own environment and ensuring that it is a safe and clean place to live, work and learn.”
Groups or individuals who would like to get involved in community clean up events in their area should call the Clean Glasgow hotline on 0800 027 7027.