Do you recognise this scene?
Every second Friday the contract gardeners turn up next door.
They are quick and efficient.
- Their petrol-powered mowers and edgers and blowers spew noise and fumes.
- The nutrient-rich clippings are put in their trailer for disposal elsewhere.
- The area is left looking neat.
- This is supplemented by occasional herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers to keep it looking consistent and green.
This is an example of a linear process that depletes the natural resources and leaves pollution in its wake condensed into a microcosm.
the alternative…
Every so often, I go out and tidy up the verge – weeding or adding plants.
- I pull weeds by hand and use hand tools to dig small holes to add new plants as tubestock. The only sounds are conversations with passers-by and the fairy wrens.
- Fallen leaves get caught by the understory to provide habitat, returning nutrients to the soil and adding biodiversity.
- The area is left looking safe for pedestrians and full of life.
- This patch has become a self-sustaining ecosystem.
This is an example of a circular process that regenerates the natural resources and is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable condensed into a microcosm.
Imagine the conversations your verge could inspire