A Kerb is a soft edge
The other day, as I walked my dogs, I watched my poodle Peppy lightly prance the narrow path of the kerb line between the grass and the road. It occured to me that the kerb is a soft edge.
The kerb is where the grass and the tree roots meet the man made road. The kerb itself is man made, so to be technical, the soft edge is where the grassy side walk meets the inside of the kerb edge.
I wouldn’t consider kerbs in a city a soft edge as it’s more of the same, built on built. But in the regional area where I live (outside of Sydney)there’s many more trees and paddocks coming up to meet the kerb.
Moving to a regional area, for me, came with the idea of enjoying and interacting with my surroundings in a different way from the city. I am all for the overall ethos of yimby-ism, but it seems building actions have not been adjusted for a regional environment.
My spirit saddens a little bit each day as, what I thought was the promise of more trees, wildlife, and rolling hills is getting eaten up more and more as development expands.
There has been such a long, and historical disconnect between this area and its council (they were put into adminstration for over 5 years due to corruption within). There has been no explicit agreement made between me, a local resident say, and a bulldozer grumbling along down the road. What that bulldozer is doing seems out of my power to change or, at least, have a say in. I literally do not know what is happening to that bit of land where the bulldozer is knocking all the trees down.
Just last night, outside our kitchen window, we saw the flashing lights of a council truck in the parkland next door. Turns out they were pressure cleaning a park bench. At 7.30pm at night. Why?
I have a friend who is on the council but, hard as she tries, it seems community engagement is an uphill battle and a resident couldn’t possibly be over all the development that was happening around her if she tried. And, as cynical as this sounds, it feels like it wouldn’t make much difference.
So, back to the kerb.
It tames the unruly nature strip.
It covers a drain leading to a vast and interconnected water system below.
It’s a path for my Poodle to prance along because it’s flat and not paw-irritatingly damp.
May the kerb in the country maintain its soft edge status. That is, be the delineator between the natural and the man made. For that to continue, nature has to be nurtured.
