15 Feb 2016 Mon
Bill Mollinsons principal of “every element has more than one function” is very relevant for sustainability. And then I have another saying that I use probably daily and that is “every job has more than one purpose”.
So today we spent quite some time raking up the grass clippings from mowing the road verge that I did on last friday.
If we dont maintain our road verge the council will spray chemicals to keep it “tidy”. So that is probably the biggest incentive so that we dont have the spray drift anywhere near us. Also when the council come with their machines once or twice a year to grade the road if we dont have it reasonably tidy they will dump piles of grass, dirt and rocks on the side of the road because “who cares what it looks like out here in the bush” and thats quite frustrating because its me who has to clean it up!
Next point is that we need lots of mulch for the garden and so there is quite a bit available , particularly if Ive left it a bit long in time and so then also in length.So after allowing it to wilt for several days today was the day for this section and now the mulch bin looks a lot better and will be more so after tomorrow as we only managed to do one side of the road today and will get into the other side tomorrow.
I guess there is also the point that its not a bad idea to “pretty up” the image of permaculture with a presentable image from the road.
So the multi purpose job was to provide mulch for the garden whilst keeping the roadside tidy so that the council do a more agreeable job whilst also keeping the neighborhood happy with a tidy property.
Ciao Tom
©2016 Tom Kendall; permeco.org, incorporating Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast, simplicity, permaculture, self reliance and homesteading, sustainablity, mulch collection.
Good for you. Shame that you feel the obligation but at least the grass clippings have such a useful second life and your efforts have so many outcomes 🙂