Permaculture Principle 11:
Use edges & value the marginal
The Edge is a Permaculture concept
In the words of Charlie Mgee “The Edge is where it’s at”
Some words relating to this highly fertile, volatile place: Edge,
fringe, border, margin, verge, periphery, outer limits
There are many benefits to life on the fringes of a habitat
(or society). But it’s not a ‘safe’ place.
The edge is the interface between two worlds it’s a place
where one niche interacts with another and borders are never truly fixed, there
is a constant interplay and struggle for dominance. It is also a place which
has potential to support a greater diversity. This can be viewed in terms of
ecological / biological interplay but can be easily translated as a social metaphor.
A lot of wild foods can be collected from verges and edges. Blackberries are often found on marginal land close to cities in southern Australia. Here in Darwin when weather becomes dry collect Rosellas from sites where the soil has been disturbed.
Edges:
Kitchener Drive at Darwin's Waterfront. There is a steep drop off between the city and the waterfront in Darwin separating what would have been an open woodland environment from what was once mangroves. There is not much left of either of these habitats any more but the cliff face is a very different environment. Along the cliff is a thin strip of Monsoon vine forest. It is lush and green and provides an amazing fringe habitat for various species in Darwin City.
Kitchener Drive at Darwin's Waterfront. There is a steep drop off between the city and the waterfront in Darwin separating what would have been an open woodland environment from what was once mangroves. There is not much left of either of these habitats any more but the cliff face is a very different environment. Along the cliff is a thin strip of Monsoon vine forest. It is lush and green and provides an amazing fringe habitat for various species in Darwin City.
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| Cliff edge Kitchener Drive |
Where the land meets the sea is an edge which is bursting
with life where both land and water creatures converge. On the weekend we
visited the fish feeding at Doctor’s Gully. Fish come to the edge of the water
to be fed bread by the tourists, meanwhile there are various other
opportunistic species waiting to prey on the unsuspecting fish.
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| Water's Edge |
Mangroves
provide a rich source of nutrient to crabs and other crustaceans and fish; these are
hunting grounds for monitor lizards, tree rats, bats, snakes and many species
of fish which live predominantly in this environment. The mangroves also
provide crucial shelter to baby fish of various species, without which the sea
populations would be greatly reduced.
In our permanent fresh water habitats land animals all converge at the
edge of the water to hunt and drink. Creeks support a unique habitat called the
riparian zone which is often only a few meters wide and has a biodiversity
which is far greater than the surrounding bush land.Riparian zones often remain green and lush while the vegetation just meters away is dry and sparse.
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| Rapid Creek (fresh water) |
In the garden environment edges provide unique growing conditions where well designed landscapes combined with complementary planting can provide ideal growing conditions for diverse crops, improved resilience and nutrient uptake which bring about increased yields.
Here's Charlie Mgee from Formidable Vegetable Sound System singing 'The Edge Is Where It's At'
If you like this song there's plenty more where that came from. Buy the CD
( http://permacultureprinciples.com/product/rhymers-manual/ )
The EDGE of Society
It’s fascinating that the very place which produces the most
creativity and innovation is also looked on unfavourably by society. When
people get close to the edge society gets nervous.
Throughout the ages one of the greatest punishments for
social transgression has been to ‘cast out’ the offenders, condemning them to
leave the shelter of their society, without which they are expected to perish.
Some do, but some actually find a way to thrive outside the restrictive
confines of social conformity. Society uses terms like ‘Fringe dweller’, ‘marginalize’,
‘close to the edge’ to describe people who don’t fit with the conventions of
their society. However from the outer edge people can gain insightful
perspective of the society they don’t quite fit into. Prophet’s and visionaries
have often emerged from the shadows with important messages…
The Archetype storyline of The Hero’s Journey is a perfect
example of The Edge in a social context. I believe it is actually an outline
for movement from the moribund dead wood at the heart of the tree of life to
living dynamic periphery of bark and sap. Close to the surface, vulnerable to
attack from outside but moving and alive!
When Bilbo took off into the unknown with a band of Dwarves
he ventured well beyond the safety of the Shire and journeyed at the margins
interacting with all manner of other folk and creatures. Great mysteries were revealed
to him, many dangers and wonders the sources of life and death. While the fate
of the shire was playing out at the fringes the shire folk were oblivious,
asleep. Bilbo was awake.
Henry David Thoreau actively sought solitude in the forest. He set out to live a year by a lake, away from the company of his neighbors and the hustle and bustle of modern life. From the outer limit of his society he was able to reflect on it's value and the value of simple things. In doing this and writing about his experience he taught us not to doubt our instinct or yearning to spend time in nature simply for it's own sake. It's OK to step aside from the madness of our society.
So much great art comes from the outsider’s perspective, but
we rarely acknowledge it. Some of what we would call definitive Australian or
American music and literature is produced from the children of immigrants, first
generation people who have had the experience of not entirely fitting the national
identity. They paint the picture, we identify with it and claim it as our own
perspective but we rarely consider where the artist stood to make such
observations. Jack Kerouac, Irving Berlin,
Paul Kelly, who could
have written the theme for Australia during the late 20th and early
21st century, has this perspective. Bon Scott, Jimmy Barnes and
Colin Hay whose songs have expressed the Australian experience so well are
Scottish by birth they and many others have contributed to the Australian identity.
Explorers at the fringes dragged into
the centre when their perspective from the edge has borne fruit.
But these are the ones who have succeeded. The thing about
living on the fringes is that there are few safeguards for failure.
It is often difficult to be on the fringe. Sometimes we are forced to the outside in a violent way we are rejected. It's easy to see this happening all around me today. I only have to consider the 1,000s locked up in immigration detention, or the Aboriginal people living on the streets of Darwin, rounded up constantly by the police, or looked down on by people in the street. People with disabilities are subtly denied full membership in society, I'm sure there are a thousand other examples and many of them can simply come down to one's own perception. The thing is that by being cast outside the bubble of social acceptance we are given a very special opportunity to wake up from the illusion. To break out and take a look around from outside the fish bowl. To see what those inside are incapable of seeing while they '...stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're they're used to...' (Waterfalls by TLC)
