A group of big-hearted Glaswegians will travel to South Uist later this month to help the local community build coastal defences to protect their island from the ravages of climate change.

Climate change has caused flooding and the loss of crofting land on the island, with some fearing sea levels will rise to a level which would cut the island in two.

In November last year the islanders, supported by Oxfam Scotland, started reinforcing the dune system which protects the island from the Atlantic.

The new Glaswegian recruits, drawn from a variety of projects across the city including Galgael and the Govanhill Baths Trust, will spend five days working with old fishing nets to anchor sand dunes until the marram grass can take root, and hold together the body of sand.

They group will leave Glasgow on September 18 and return on the 23rd.

Sammy McCormick, from the Galgael project, will travel to South Uist. He said:

"We don't have the money to get out of the city much, never mind travel out as far as South Uist, and I'm pretty excited about finding out what life on the island is like. Placing the fishing nets sounds like hard work, but I'm actually looking forward to it. It's going to be something completely different."

Seamus MacDonald, a former crofter from South Uist who was brought up on the island, added:

"In some places, the sea has come in 30 or 40 metres over the farmland in my lifetime. I dread to think what future generations are going to see unless we do something now. It was great to get the work started, and having this extra set of hands to get on with things will be just grand."

By 2030, South Uist will experience warmer and wetter winters, wetter springs and autumns, warmer and drier summers, and a decrease in cloud coverage in all seasons except summer (University of West of Scotland).

New photos below - click through for larger size & full-screen...

PJM & AD