You bought a piece of land. You are helping a friend/client design their land.

What do you do on Day 1? Where do you start your first level of observations? What do you make notes of, in the first hour?

You walk on the edge.

Anything greater than 3 acres of an undulated landscape can be overwhelming to walk. One of the easier ways to understand the landscape is to start walking on the edge.

The edge is where interesting things happen. The edge effect is usually the change in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats. Sometimes, the number of species and the population density of some of the species at the boundary is much greater than either community.

Simply put, you will observe the following

The Fence - Who shares your boundary? When you walk on the fence you realize who your neighbours are and you’ll gather a chance to peek at their property. Do people and animals move through the property? Is there a breach in the fence? If yes, then why? This is useful information to have.

Water - Most of the excess water from the neighbouring properties usually ends up on yours if the land is lower. One would find smaller nullahs and channels running on the edge. There might be a chance to use this as your resource. Maybe plan for earthworks?

Soil - Although the same sub-layers of soil might continue underneath your property, the soil management might have been different from yours to your neighbour’s. This, in the long term will affect what you aspire to grow. Also, observe points of erosion and deposition of silt in these areas.

Winds - Map the winds on the drawing. Although the dominant winds can be derived from available data, local winds can only be understood by walking on the edge. This also helps you plan for windbreaks and a living fence.

Views - The perspective that you’d get of your land from here is different. This is also an opening to several different vantage points where one can understand the form of the land. You can understand what flows in and out your land by standing on the edge. Take pictures from several different directions. If one does not have a contour map then this would be a great place to start drawing the shape of the land.

Waste to Gold - A lot of waste is piled up on the edge if it isn’t managed well. If your neighbour has not utilized their energies and resources well then that will be yours. Be smart and utilize those for your benefit, as long as it’s legal!

Extent of land - Walking on the edge will equip you with the scale of your land and what you can do with it. You can assess the shape and size and get a picture of what you’re dealing with. This would also help you plan your entry and exit points.

Pick up a map and start with these 7 points. For further guidelines refer to How To Read A Landscape.

Kiri leading the team along the edge of Poomale Estate. It’s wonderful, the beauty discovered walking and observing the diverse edges of nature.

Journal

Walking on the wild side