Permacultureglobal.org - the interactive map and database of the Worldwide Permaculture Network

The Paddock

Details

Commenced:	01/08/2011
Submitted:	03/01/2012
Last updated:	04/12/2019
Location:	Burt Road, Woodanilling, Western Australia, AU
Climate zone:	Warm Temperate

My Projects

(projects i'm involved in)

The Paddock

Woodanilling, AU

Followers

Back to The Paddock

Digging the first swale

Project: The Paddock

Posted by Amanda McLennan over 12 years ago

After originally believing that we needed to survey our entire site and hire a digger to dig a swale we were inspired to dig a mini-swale ourselves by hand.

August 2011

I subscribe to a variety of permaculture blogs and received one last year showing a man digging a swale the width and depth of a shovel head, having marked the contour of his land using a home-made A-frame level. I regret to admit I cannot find this blog entry anywhere to give you a link however it inspired me to do the same on our land in order to have a swale in the short term without the need for expensive equipment.

Having asked Mike to build me the A-frame level (here's a great picture of one I found on www.thegardenhound.com), I purchased one can of spray paint and some mulch then loaded two of our potted trees, a selection of seeds, two EcoBags and the shovel in the car and off we went to La Bella Vita to dig our first swale!

Using the A-frame level to find a contour about 4 metres long, we spray painted the contour and dug as accurately as possible along the line. The dirt removed from the swale was piled onto the down-hill slope and into this we planted one eucalypt and one avocado tree. We selected these particular trees only because they were the biggest of our potted trees and needed to be planted out as soon as possible.

Mike pushed a variety of pea, bean and other seeds into the dug-out swale then the mulch went over the top of the swale bank. One EcoBag was put around the stem of each tree and filled with water, as we would not be back to visit the trees for at least a month... in the end it was THREE months before we returned to see the fate of our trees... and swale.

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to comment.

Courses Taught Here!

Project Badges

Administrators

Team Members

(close)

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

	Member A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Permaculture Matchmaker One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.
	PDC People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.
	PDC Verified People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	PRI PDC People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.
	PDC Teacher People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.
	PRI Teacher With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable. PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.
	Aid Worker The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Consultant The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Community Project Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.