Surrey County Council seeks views on nature recovery strategy
Heath said it was a "pivotal moment" for nature in Surrey. "The Local Nature Recovery Strategy gives us a real opportunity to reverse decades of decline and create a thriving, connected natural environment that benefits both wildlife and people," she said.Under the plans, the county council said it was aiming to encourage environmentally-friendly land use, while also slowing down pollution and the effects of flooding.It also plans to promote the use of nature-friendly methods of taking care of the land, such as using grass-eating plants to maintain field rather than lawn mowers.It is hoping the strategy will also keep public spaces clean and save water.Lisa Creaye-Griffin, director of the Surrey Nature Partnership, said: "This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for nature recovery in Surrey."The consultation on the plans will run until 25 September and is available on the Surrey County Council website.The plans will then be reviewed and agreed by the council's cabinet in early 2026.
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Plaque honours Sheffield firefighter killed in cafe blaze
A red plaque honouring a firefighter who died after a blaze at a cafe has been installed at the site where he suffered fatal injuries in Mallinson was 28 when he was called to tackle an explosion at the former Little Mermaid Cafe on Norfolk Street, now Brown's Brasserie and Bar, in father of two died from his injuries eight days later.A memorial service was held on Thursday and Paula Peat, Mr Mallinson's daughter, said: "As a family, we feel really proud and overwhelmed by the amount of people who have come to help us celebrate and remember his bravery." Darren Mallinson, his son, said the pair did not have many memories of their father because they had been so young when he he said their mother, Andrea Mallinson, had talked about "how brave he was and how much she missed him"."She never remarried because she said she never fell out of love with him," he said. Retired firefighter Graham Brown, a friend of Mr Mallinson's who also attended the fire at the Little Mermaid, said the plaque was a "recognition of Frank's commitment".Recalling the events of that night, he said: "There was an almighty bang when the place blew up and the windows shattered.""The last thing I saw of Frank was him laid out on the pavement - they were trying to resuscitate him."Mr Brown said he had regularly driven his friend to work because Mr Mallinson did not have a he eventually bought a broken motorbike, and invited Mr Brown to help him fix it."It never happened. He was taken from us before I had the chance to go and see it," he said. The Red Plaque project has been run by the Fire Brigades Union since 2017 and honours firefighters who have died in the line of Wilson, from the union, said: "It provides a place for the family to come to commemorate their loved one."Also, in a public place like this in the centre of Sheffield, it means that everybody walking past can see that plaque."It helps them understand more about the fire and rescue service and the sacrifice that is sometimes made on their behalf." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Blackadder star Tony Robinson vents anger over ‘heightism'
As dating apps using height filters spark debate on 'heightism', the Blackadder star Tony Robinson has vented his anger at women who feel it is acceptable to comment on men's height. 'Nowadays, you don't pick on people's looks, do you? It's like kind of a new understanding over the last 10 or 15 years, you don't deride people for what they look like,' the 5ft 4in actor, 78, told Elizabeth Day's How to Fail podcast, admitting he had seen his shorter than average height as a problem in life. Studies over decades show heightism leads to bias, yet it appears even today to be more socially acceptable than other forms of physical prejudice. The term 'heightism' was first coined by the sociologist Saul Feldman in 1971. Dr Erin Pritchard, a senior lecturer in sociology and disability studies at Liverpool Hope University, believes much heightism is subconscious, but that it is ingrained. It has also not benefited from widespread acceptance movements. 'You had the fat acceptance movement, and while there's still issues, you would never go, 'well, how much do you weigh'? But it's perfectly acceptable for people to go, 'how tall are you'?' she said. It is reinforced through popular culture, 'Chicken and egg, I suppose. But you're seeing it in films and in TV shows, jokes about short man syndrome,' she said. 'Height is all about power, isn't it? It's quite a powerful thing.' And it is present in everyday language. We tell people to 'walk tall'; we 'look up to' people; those respected 'have stature'; those less so 'have shortcomings' or 'fall short'. The US state of Michigan, the US cities Santa Cruz, San Francisco and New York City, as well as Ontario, Canada and Victoria, Australia, are among the few to address height discrimination in civil rights law. An increase in men's height corresponds to increased income, according to a 2004 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The term 'height premium' emerged from another 2004 study, which found an 1.8% increase in men's wages accompanies every additional inch [2.54 cm] of height, and that men's wages as adults could be linked to their height at age 16. Women prefer a larger height difference between themselves and male partners, according to a 2013 study at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and were most satisfied when their partner was 21cm taller. Men, however, preferred an 8cm difference over female partners. There was a lighthearted, body positive movement during the 2022 TikTok 'short king spring', in praise of short men. But then a 2023 study suggested 'short man syndrome', often referred to as the Napoleon complex, may lead short men to compensate with antagonistic behaviours. The study claims evidence of 'such a complex in those characterised by the Dark Triad traits of psychopathy (i.e, callousness, criminality), narcissism (i.e, inflated sense of self, grandiosity), and Machiavellianism (i.e, pragmatic cynicism, duplicity).' However, being too tall also attracts the unwelcome. The 6ft 7in comedian and actor, Stephen Merchant, has spoken of his weariness at relentless comments. Trying to be funny was a way of taking ownership of standing out. 'If people are going to look at you, they may as well look at you and think what you are doing is good or funny or entertaining rather than just pointing and laughing. I guess I was a nerd and I felt a bit awkward because I was 6ft 7in even from a young age,' he told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. The actor Geena Davis knocked two inches off her 6ft height to get accepted by modelling agencies in her youth. Miranda Hart, the Call the Midwife star, has said she is fed up with being defined by her 6ft 1in height. Nicole Kidman, at 5ft 11in used to shave halfan inch off to get auditions. A study of taller than average female college students found it resulted in unintended intimidation. Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's labor secretary, a Rhodes Scholar, and one of Time magazine's 10 best cabinet members of the century, is 4ft 11, an issue he publicly addressed in his blogpost. 'When it comes to choosing leaders, our society is exceptionally heightist and seems to be getting more so. My dear friend and mentor, the late economist John Kenneth Galbraith, was 6 foot 8. He once said that favouring the tall was 'one of the most blatant and forgiven prejudices in our society'.' But he added: 'I'm fortunate to have grown up (or at least grown upward) in a society that, more and more, values brains over brawn. There are still bullies in the world, of course. But in a civil society, those bullies can be stopped with words and ideas. At least, that's been my faith. That's how I've tried to compensate for my short height.' Prichard believes: 'We need more voices like Tony Robinson coming out and saying it, to show this is not all woke nonsense, [to] just sort of sit down and listen to what they have to say and go, OK, these are their lived experiences.'
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Gift from Grenada': grapefruit trees win protection after London campaign
The pair of subtropical grapefruit trees have stood, slightly incongruously, on a street in south-west London for 40-odd years since Marline Anderson brought them over from Grenada – described as a 'gift' from her homeland – and planted them in her front garden. The trees will remain as a memorial to Anderson, who died recently, after campaigners seeking to protect them were told on Thursday they had been successful. Vasilisa Ermakova, a friend and neighbour of Anderson, said the campaign had been not only about the preservation of the trees but also about preserving the memory of her friend. 'It's almost like she will live for ever in my eyes.' The tree, among few growing outside Kew Gardens in the UK, is actually two trees planted close together, said Ermakova. A plaque on the wall outside Anderson's former house in Battersea tells passersby that she planted the grapefruit tree 'with love in the 1980s'. It reads: 'A gift from her homeland, Grenada. It bears fruit year-round, her essence lives on in its roots.' The plaque also carries Anderson's words: 'Kindly refrain from picking fruit from the tree. You are welcome to gather what nature has let fall.' Lior Berman, a local chef who has campaigned for the trees to be given legal protection, said she had turned the fruit into a marmalade for her business, Lior's Kitchen. 'It was like candied orange, but a bit more bitter. You can use the leaves for tea, or to wash your hair.' Berman said if anyone had come to remove the trees, people would have lost something special. 'You want to have a relationship and a connection to nature. When you have a healthy, mature tree that produces fruit in the city, you want to protect it as much as you can,' she said. 'People go way, way too far from nature. These are exactly the little things that can allow us to have that healthy connection with nature. Gardening is healthy, it's relaxing, it's good for your mental health.' That is one of the reasons the campaigners, including Berman and Ermakova, gave for the trees to be protected. They were concerned that because the flat belongs to Wandsworth council, the tree would end up being removed. Those fears have now been allayed after the deputy leader of the council, Kemi Akinola, arrived at the house on Thursday to reveal the council had agreed to implement a protection order meaning there would be legal ramifications for anyone who removed them. The council has also committed to maintaining the trees. The order is interim, pending full approval, which can only be granted after a consultation period of 28 days. But Akinola said the political will was there to protect this piece of the area's heritage. She said: 'We're trying to record the history of our Windrush generation at the moment. Because, otherwise, once they go, the stories will go.' Small pieces of heritage such as the grapefruit trees in Battersea are part of that story, she said. 'Marline was the community,' said Ermakova. 'Everybody in the street knows she was friends with everybody. She looked after everybody. She has three children, but I always say she probably has about 20 children because everybody calls her 'Mum'.' Ermakova said she was happy the trees had received the kind of protection their long sharp thorns could not provide. 'Happy, but a little bittersweet because, obviously, she's not here to see it. And she would have really loved to have known it would be protected.' Ermakova said she is not yet sure how she feels, given the short period of time since Anderson's death. 'I think all of us family and friends are going to be just overwhelmed, given the funeral was only on Monday.' But she added: 'If we can drive down here in 50 years and see the tree, then that will be quite phenomenal.'
