Ecotopia’s Lost!

On Saturday of 6th week, we - Alyona and Jessica, will be lost. And we need your help.

 Have you ever woken up in the morning somewhere 100 miles away from home dressed up as broccoli without a penny in the pocket (probably without even a pocket due to the fact that broccoli do not have pockets)? That will be us on 26th of February, trying to figure out what corner of the Earth is welcoming us this time.

But do not despair: both of us have honours degrees in Geography and we know how to stare at the map. We can even draw a map! Our decent skills in establishing eye contact will also help us to stop some cars and get back to Oxford soon. Hopefully we will not be eaten either.

Supporting Shelter

We will hitchhike for charity as a part of Oxford RAG (Raise And Give) campaign. The charity is Shelter, which is an advocacy organization which works towards decent housing and living standards for people throughout the UK.

Shelter provides information and support about tenants and homeowners rights related to living condition, mortgages, debt and evictions. They also provide emergency housing for the homeless and respond to domestic gender violence.
 
A vision of decent housing and environmental sustainability in the UK

We support Shelter's call for appropriate located housing - avoiding urban sprawl and incorporating green corridors and spaces into urban planning, and having access to transportation links.

Shelter supports the application high environmental standards for existing housing stocks as well as new homes in the UK, such as the Code for Sustainable Housing . In order for this to happen there is a need to build the capacity and skill base of of industry, and create appropriate incentives to fulfill the UK Government proposal that all new homes built after 2016 be built to zero-carbon standards.

Third, they speak about the need to design homes to cope with environmental change - where homes are built to deal with increased flooding, drier summers and heavier rainfall.

See http://england.shelter.org.uk/ for more information on Shelter.

 JustGiving

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.