Green burial grounds adopt principles of restoration ecology, to eventually become natural wilderness preserves. Restoration ecologists study the land to learn what is native, what had invaded the land, what wildlife existed, and plan to encourage the restoration and preservation of the grounds. Land is maintained without chemicals or nonnative plantings.
Green Burials - Back from the PastAlthough many consider green burial a new choice in burial options, green burials have been in existence for many years. There used to be a time when the deceased were buried naturally, often on their own land. Families cared for their own deceased and usually buried them on their own property. Although they weren’t called green burials then, we now understand the wisdom involved in these practices.
Those who choose Green Burial oppose the chemicals used in the traditional embalming process. However, the funeral industry is working to reduce and elminate these issues. New environmentally friendly embalming fluids and chemicals are now available by some of the leading funerary chemical manufacturers.
Those who perform home funerals believe in taking matters into their own hands, by performing meaningful at-home funerals and providing natural burials for loved ones. They may choose to perform the home funeral alone or with the support of a local funeral director who can be of assistance when acquiring death certificates and filing other important paperwork.
To help further reduce waste, green burial supporters choose biodegradable, sustainable solutions for their end-of-life plans. This includes burial choices of sustainably grown woods, woven baskets, natural pottery urns, and other earth friendly materials. However, there is no need to purchase a product to ensure a green departure. Sustainable products include the reuse of retired objects that could be good for the purposes of burial or cremains. For example, some have chosen to bury a loved one in a favorite blanket or to keep their ashes in the deceased’s favorite cookie tin.
ConservationBy 2010 at least half of the US population will live in coastal cities and towns. Chemicals (such as embalming fluid) are used in traditional burial creates pollution problems that also reduce the availability of land.
(Image Left) In Tigard, Oregon (part of the Portland metropolitan area), the Washington Square Mall is encroaching on a neighboring cemetery. Signage above store entrances, such as JC Penney shown above, are clearly visible. This situation is a growing and common occurrence throughout populated cities around the globe.
The global population is increasing, producing a ballooning amount of organic material without enough land to promise an eternity of interment.
It's long been thought that cremation was the more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly option, until now. Green burials mean no waste of precious materials (steel, concrete, hardwoods, copper and bronze) and less pollution.
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