tips for how to make a tall berm (with or without an excavator) from a permaculture perspective

Mike please move this post if it's in the wrong place.  I thought it might be useful here.

Starting with wikiHow as a point of reference (it has some problems in it), what are the full set of steps to building the desired 8' berm or higher?  

--Paul Wheaton mentions structural engineering in a hugelkultur or top 3 feet or so of a berm to stabilize, so it can be steeper than the 1:4 slope limit suggested by wikiHow (a huge amount of width for the height, meaning you have to move a huge amount of dirt for it and take up a considerable percentage of your acreage, plus more height angle prevents animals from getting p and eating what's on the berm and increases the season extension on a south-facing slope of the berm).  What is this structural engineering?  Adding lots of branches "higgledy piggledy" into the soil as you build, to hold it together.   The branches should not be touching one another too much, which would let them dry out too much.  There's more about this in Paul's podcasts.

some questions:

--For the lower part of the berm that is solid soil, can the soil be sand if that's what you have?
--what do you need to watch out for in terms of timing for using a heavy excavator on your land?
--what safety considerations?
--compaction of what you're sitting the trackhoe on?
--how much should you compact the berm?

Here's the badge bit this references:

https://permies.com/wiki/216935/berm-hugelkultur-PEM-BB-earthworks

Here's the badge bit this references:

https://permies.com/wiki/216935/berm-hugelkultur-PEM-BB-earthworks

Here's wiki How to use an excavator.  I think it's pretty clear and well-written, and I'm still pretty sure I'll screw something up if left to my own devices to try this the first time.  It's a lot to remember, and I learn by trial and error.  That really works well when you're working with something that can fit in your hands more or less, but when you can fit into its hand, well, the results could be a bit more dramatic.

https://www.wikihow.com/Drive-an-Excavator#:~:text=Push%20the%20joystick%20right%20to,left%20to%20close%20the%20bucket.&text=Press%20the%20left%20joystick%20forward,and%20swing%20for%20the%20excavator.

I still wonder about aiming the dirt in the dropping part, that they don't really cover.  It looks like adjusting the stick will do that, but will that make you tip over?? what will make you tip over??  I have questions.  

If anyone wants an excavator buddy I'd love to learn this together with someone else either locally or over videoconferencing.  Purple mooseage me.

Here’s a free on-line game for learning an excavator. The controls are not realistic (no joy stick) but it seems better than nothing. You can get a feel for the momentum of the vehicle, and be a bit more comfortable sensing you’re not about to crash it.

It does include ads but you can skip much of them. I would rate it a 6/10 for realism (based on my extremely limited knowledge which is basically just the wiki How article and watching people working with them from a distance.)

I may try out a few others.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Well Joshua.  The most important thing is SAFETY: ROP and a seat belt. Be careful with sand piles and pits.
I bought a back hoe 4 years ago(bucket list thing) and had a friend drop by and give me a 15 minute lesson.

Easy peasy.  Just get on it and go play. Dig holes. Fill in holes. Repeat.
SO MUCH FUN!

It truly is a ZEN thing.