Resilient excavation bucket, excavation apparatus, and methods of use and manufacture thereof

An excavation apparatus, comprising:

• a piece of machinery having an articulated arm;
• and
• an excavation bucket operatively associated with the articulated arm of the piece of machinery, the excavation bucket comprising:
• a rigid member having a pair of sidewalls and at least one connection member pivotally connected to the articulated arm of the piece of machinery, each of the sidewalls having a forward end, a rearward end, an upper end, and a lower end, the sidewalls being supported in a spaced apart relationship to one another so that the sidewalls cooperate to define a cavity with an open bottom;
• and
• a resilient member having a front edge, a rear edge, a first lateral edge, and a second lateral edge, the first lateral edge connected to one of the sidewalls and the second lateral edge connected to the other sidewall such that the resilient member extends across the open bottom of the rigid member with the front edge positioned forward of the forward ends of the sidewalls so as to serve as a digging edge and the rear edge positioned rearward of the open bottom, the resilient member being fabricated of a polymeric material to deflect in response to pressure from impact and to return to a substantially non-deflected condition upon release of the pressure.