What am I doing? 

Great question. Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not the mountain climbing type. However. That will all change this October, when I drag myself on a hike up and across the Accursed Mountains, or the Albanian Alps. This will be no easy feat, trekking a 19km journey and tackling a peak twice the size of Snowdon... And that's just day one. My struggle will continue for 3 days, all in the name of the lovely 'ol sea turtles (we'll get to this later), across 3 countries, 3 mountains and a grand total of 60km. 

Our tourism will also benefit some of the poorest Eastern European nations ravaged by war and communism, as we visit rural and unexplored communities across Eastern Europe in Albania and Kosovo. With little infrastructure in place - meaning no loos, no electricity, and no hair straighteners - I'll be educating myself in living outside of 21st Century London (which I promise to document thoroughly for your amusement). 

Why am I doing it? 

Because I'm a selfless idiot with no concept of my physical capabilities? 

Well, that's true, but the more pressing issue is that each year an extra eight million tonnes of plastic enters our ocean. That's 51 trillion pieces of plastic now estimated to be floating around out there, with microplastics now being unearthed in our snow, rain, food chain and drinking water. 

Plastic has been found in the digestive systems of every single animal involved in a study of dolphins, seals and whales which had died on the UK coast this year, and all seven species of endangered Sea Turtle are now at risk of ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic waste. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I really like sea turtles and dolphins. So. I'm trying to do something to help. 

And the point of all this is that I need you to donate some cash. A quid. A tenner. A hundred quid if you're feeling flush. Anything. I'm not putting myself through this for nothing - I'm a slug and I'm dragging myself up a mountain for this. So please, make it worth my while. 

And if you don't, I'm going to tell everyone you hate sea turtles. 

So - how does your donation help? 

By supporting Plastic Oceans, you're facilitating education, science and sustainability programmes that will create a wave of change. Through changing attitudes, behaviours and practices on the use and value of plastics, we can stop plastic pollution reaching the ocean within a generation. 

Which means no more dead dolphins, no chunks of microplastic in your fish and chips, and helping the future generations of the 98% of Albatrosses out there who've currently ingested plastic (amongst thousands of other creatures!)

You won't be paying for my trip, just to make that clear. Myself and Acre have covered the cost of the excursion (and of offsetting our carbon footprint!)