hills or plane u" eiisirng «inn. ind ercaie ar ahliicmie
minor landseapc icaiurcs Small earihwnrks are so
imrncdiaiely clh‘nlvr cheap. and pcrmaneni ihai il
coniinually amnris me ihai people wlll suller local
droughi. seawinds, noise, erosion, or tv-n llooding
wflhoul spending ihc leis hundred dollars on a
Vin-“43ml! and planrrd earihhaiik ihai would solve ihe
problem They will build expensive ianksiands or
lowers railier ihan a eheap hill, and suller ddaih liy
siorm and lire raihcr ihnn make a very sale earih
shelier lor ihcir iamilies lil some» as an riuidoor cellar
ai uiher limes»

Earihwrirks areneecssarvond eihieal where ihey-

. reduce our nud my energy iunderground housing
in deserisl,

- dice y our landseape [m lood pioduriion (lash
culruie pondsl.

a perrnanenily rchalnluaie damage leoniour banks,
inienepiorhanlssi,

- save maieoals lhouse srie designi, or

a enable oeiier land use, or help revegeiaieihe earih.

As wilh all iechnioues, il proliis us io make as many
uses 010th shaping as we can, ii is shameiul io see
quarries, rinnes and roads serving a single purpcae, and
usually leli as n sierile syslein, when (hey (uuld be
shaped or planied lo assisi lnndseape diversiiv

A whole sci of skilled and welleined wasie or soil
ieclamaiion siraiegies has developed as meihods al
slnb rig devasiaied landscapes, hoih lor naiural
rnsiahiliiy and ihe carelessness oi engineers. An
:xtellem handonok lnr ihose involved in such
painsiakmg work, and rim-covering many climaies and
areas, is lhai ol Dr Hugo Sehieeliil lsioi-ripivieeriiiy /ur
laiid Rd-lnninliriii arid chriscriiiiiini, lmwusfly or Aliserin
l-ress, 198m I rannoi irio highly recommend ihia book
lor wmald»be earlhmrwers

Earih can be moved ior pmdueiive reasons. many oi
ihern elassihaole as landscape resumiion

. Tu ereaie shelien lo assisi wiih loundaiions and lo
make amis level lor floors:

- Tu ierinee hill slopes lor sialrlc padi erop, wei
ierraees, or gardens.

- Tu raise banks or lci dig diiches as delences againsi
flood, lire, aiiaek, or wandering \egfia|lon<ea|er§,

- To drain or lill areas iio direci waier (low or
mneol -

- To creale access roads |0 ilirise plaees we
commonly visii,

. Tu gei ai earrh maieoals lochies, clays, minerals,
fuels):

. To make holes lor any number oi reasons and oi
greaily varying sizes irorn lenmpusb io dams, wells io
deeply drilled bores

. To err-air.- special airirages and enlarge living space
(cellars and cavesl.

- 1o slop erosive farm earrving oil soils lsoil con-
diiionirig and cmlnn conlmll;

- To pieveni noise polluiion (embankmenls),dnd

. re perrriii recharge al groundwniers iswales and

rippingl,

 

 

 

228

We also move ihc earih in play and lo plani. For all
ihese reasons, we have devised handheld and mech.
anicnl diggers, diieheis, angers, deills, blades, huekeis,
shoes, rakes, ploughs. rippers, delvers, seuops,
unhplanes, loaders, rock-cuiieis, draglmes, exeava.
iors, and dredgers We also move earih wiih explo.
sives, hydraulic yeis, and as an uninieniional iesuli oi
erosive processes generally

Erosion has iuell been used io build soil ierracea on
lower slopes in more ihan one ruliure, but ii is
debamble ii ihe ierrace idea was noi as a resuli ol
aiiempis io smy erosion belore ihe idea ol using "mien
io creole iormses laier developed.

Uniil ihe Second World War, earlh was moved by
sheer numbers oi people, by hand or horse and car, or
by a iew people working wiih wheelbarrows or loaskeis
over a long period. All iiiis has changed why pur up
ihousands ol mud orieks when a machine can compaci
a H m ihiek wall immune io llood. lire, and
eariliquake in a iew hoaisl 0r labour long hours overa
hole when we can lalasi a lenceepsai in a hard shale
base lor a lew «ms:

in ihis secrion, I will noi aiiempn ia deal wiih large,
complex, or precise eivd works, ihose necessary lor
sewage layouis. ihe landscape excavalions lor large
buildings or large dams, poris, or aerodiomes. l wxll
insiead limii mysell lo lhose iarrn, povaie, uiehil,
relairvely small. and rehab la w or susiainalale
earih-iooving svsiems ihaian ndividual mighi employ
io slielier a house. or to comml waier in a produeuve
landscape

      

9.2
PLANNING EARTHWORKS

ii is brsl lo plan all aspeds ol ihe earrliemovirig process
lie/ore ihe machines or labourers arrive on sue,

a Make an ininal dmslan where you would like io
place ihe ie, g.l road. darn house siie, drains, me, using
a eoniour map and plan ii necessary.

2 lesi lhe soil by auger holes. soil samples, and soil
piis |o deierrnine ii ihe soil is good enough io suli your
plans la good clay soil lor dams is esseniiali. Seek
Plvffisloluladvke or do more research lielore deciding
conclusively on placemeni.

3 Peg oui ihesile, using a level (whlch can be simple
or complex», a measunng iape, and a good many sinker
wllh red or whiie eloih areached lso ihai ihe
earihemoving machine (in iollow iheml,

4 plan a plaee lo sioru all ihe mmlL removed
during lhe mavaiions. Never allow ropsoil h: lee mixed
wilh subsoil, louieareiiilly remove il, in he laier rerumed
|o ihe siie as a growmg medium and co siabilise subsoil
erosion.

To slaoiliso ihe siie immedmiely, have on hand as
many seeds and plani molecule as needed. These can
he purchased liom a nursery or grown in pols on ihe
siie several monihs helore ihe planned earlhworlcs (see