A thoughtful Paisley youngster has been handed a top environmental award for helping clean up his neighbourhood.
Zach Gilmour rolled up his sleeves and collected a staggering 20 bags of rubbish from an area close to his former nursery, in Paisley, after spotting the litter while out on a walk with his grandfather Tony Green.
The St Paul’s Primary pupil got to work alongside Tony to give the area a remarkable makeover in just a few hours.
His efforts caught the attention of national environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, which has awarded the five-year-old with a Clean Up Scotland Hero award for his hard work.
Zach wanted to take on his first litter pick back in March after he was inspired by Tony and his wife Suzanne - who had taken part in a Renfrewshire Council Team Up to Clean Up event the week before.
It took Tony and Zach two hours to clear the grass parks near Foxlea Nursery, in Tweed Avenue and Almond Crescent, and Tony even bought Zach a special litter picker for the job.
Since then, Zach can now be found picking up litter at least a couple of times a month, and a favourite spot to keep looking neat and tidy is around and about his school.
He also recently completed a litter pick with the rest of his primary one class and was rewarded for his efforts with a school recycling award.
Grandad Tony said:“I am incredibly proud of Zach for his hard work cleaning up around where he lives.
“He really understands that it is important to look after our local spaces and he is keen to do his bit. And for him it is not a chore - he really enjoys picking up the litter and making an area clean and tidy.
“Zach has definitely got the litter picking bug and is keen to continue with his hard work as he gets older.”
Heather Mclaughlin, campaigns officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “I am incredibly pleased to award Zach with our Clean Up Scotland Hero award.
“He is a great role model for everyone and really deserves this recognition.
“As we come out of lockdown once again, it is more important than ever that we look after our beautiful country and keep it clean and tidy.
“We will be running a Summer Clean as part of our Clean Up Scotland campaign later this year, and we hope thousands of people from across Scotland will take a leaf out of Zach’s book and help us to keep Scotland beautiful by carrying out a litter pick in their local area.”
The Summer Clean will run between May 28 and June 20 and more information about how to get involved with this and the Clean Up Scotland campaign can be found at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/
