Green Burials
CNN’s website is running a story about eco-friendly burials and biodegradable coffins. It made me think more about a quest my mother and I have been on for years. That is, to find more places that allow green burials.
Essentially, I do not feel 100% comfortable about the idea of embalming and using concrete grave liners and expensive coffins. It should not put a family into debt to bury a loved one and there is no reason for someone to spend upwards of $20,000 to buy pre-need packages at funeral parlors.
When we buried my father-in-law, we found a cemetery in St. Petersburg, FL that allowed us to burry him in the Muslim style. Although none of us are Muslim, my ex’s dad was and we understood just enough to know he would have appreciated being laid to rest in the tradition of his own beliefs. This cemetery has a separate section, away from the other gravesites and the water, that let Muslims burry their dead unembalmed and in plain shrouds.
Aside from citing religious beliefs, most cemeteries do not allow such burial methods. There are laws that usually keep you from just digging a hole and putting a body into the earth.
There is, however, one green cemetery in Florida – and several across the nation. The people of the United States have not created enough of a demand for green burial here yet to ensure more locations. In England, the trend is actually growing. I hope to see more green burials here in the future.
In DeFuniak Springs, in Florida’s eastern panhandle, there is a preserve called Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve. They are set up to allow green burials in their purest form. You can bury a loved on directly in the ground, in a shroud or blanket, or without, or even using a handmade coffin. The grounds are lovely and the sentiments are beautiful. It’s a little out of the way for me. I would rather bury family closer to whwre I live, but the desire to be allowed to bury and be buried in a way I believe is quickly outweighing my other options.
Eco-friendly burials are also allowed in special cemeteries in California, New York, South Carolina and Texas. The Green Burial Council is working on certification programs to verify the commitment and quality of providers who say they are going natural.
Do some research. I think you might agree this is a natural and logical way to honor our dead. I sincerely hope it becomes more available.
Posted on December 26th, 2007 by onecleardot
Filed under: Life in the U.S.
Why would you need a coffin at all? You should go as you came naked in the ground and take nothing with you (oh, maybe your tooth fillings and silicone enhancements)
I visited a green cemetery near Livingston, TX last year.
It is run by a wealthy eccentric who wants to see the area preserved rather than developed. The problem is that he provides no services at all. You have to make arrangements to get the body there, open and close the grave, etc. on your own. In Texas that means you have to be buried within 24 hours of death if you are not embalmed.
I am hoping that before my time comes, there will be full-service opportunities available closer to my favorite part of the state, the Hill Country.
I guess there’s no peace from big Al and his disciples even in death. Will the global warming hysteria follow me into the afterlife?
I suppose green burials are indeed getting more airtime now that the global warming issue is such a popular chat topic. My reason for advocating green burials, though, has more to do with wanting to be burried naturally. And, to save my family money. Embalming creeps me out. Why should my body be preserved, only to be stuck in the dirt later? I want to be part of the soil sooner than later after I pass.
I agree that it is creepy how we bury our dead. My family plan for cremation. My feeling is that I don’t need my body where I’d headed, so letting it go back to dust is the natural way to honor it.
Natural Burial Around the World
The modern concept of natural burial began in the UK in 1993 and has since spread across the globe. According the Centre for Natural Burial, http://naturalburial.coop there are now several hundred natural burial grounds in the United Kingdom and half a dozen sites across the USA, with others planned in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and even China.
A natural burial allows you to use your funeral as a conservation tool to create, restore and protect urban green spaces.
The Centre for Natural Burial provides comprehensive resources supporting the development of natural burial and detailed information about natural burial sites around the world. With the Natural Burial Co-operative newsletter you can stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the rapidly growing trend of natural burial including, announcements of new and proposed natural burial sites, book reviews, interviews, stories and feature articles.
The Centre for Natural Burial