Conservation and Natural Burial Defined
✺ Conservation burial is defined as natural burial on conserved land.
✺ Natural burial is defined as full body burial that is unimpeded by chemical embalming, cement or plastic vaults, steel or hardwood caskets, or burial depth lower than 4 feet.
✺ Embalming is replaced with sufficient cooling methods, such as the use of Techni-ice, dry ice, air conditioning, or even an open window in cool weather to bring the room to a temperature under 60 degrees.
✺ Biodegradable caskets made of woven materials such as willow or seagrass, and shrouds, blankets, or winding sheets made of linen, cotton, hemp, or other natural fabric are used.
✺ Burial is at 3.4 to 4 feet, deep enough to discourage animal disturbances and the ideal conditions for natural decomposition.
(For more information, go to the Conservation Burial Alliance, the Green Burial Council, and Vermont Funeral Resources & Education.)
✺ Natural burial is defined as full body burial that is unimpeded by chemical embalming, cement or plastic vaults, steel or hardwood caskets, or burial depth lower than 4 feet.
✺ Embalming is replaced with sufficient cooling methods, such as the use of Techni-ice, dry ice, air conditioning, or even an open window in cool weather to bring the room to a temperature under 60 degrees.
✺ Biodegradable caskets made of woven materials such as willow or seagrass, and shrouds, blankets, or winding sheets made of linen, cotton, hemp, or other natural fabric are used.
✺ Burial is at 3.4 to 4 feet, deep enough to discourage animal disturbances and the ideal conditions for natural decomposition.
(For more information, go to the Conservation Burial Alliance, the Green Burial Council, and Vermont Funeral Resources & Education.)
|
Conservation burial is a sustainable return to the Earth where you are:
✺ Held by family and friends to the last, then by the roots of indigenous trees ✺ At peace in the stillness of a woodland sanctuary ✺ Grounded in the spirit and regeneration of a magnificent eco-system |
Lee Webster and Fred Taylor discuss proper natural burial digging and filling techniques
|
Trailside graves are dug year-round at Higher Ground
Why choose conservation burial?
✺ Minimize your impact on the environment
✺ Enrich the soil, nourish loved ones with this life-giving experience
✺ Leave a living legacy for generations of forest and family
✺ Live sustainably, die sustainably
✺ Save on costs
✺ Embody earth-centered spirituality while enhancing beautiful, sacred woodlands
Conservation burial supports the natural process of the human body’s decomposition in healthy soil, recycling elements from the body into nutrients for the entire ecosystem.
✺ Decomposers, microorganisms, fungi, and insects contribute to recycling the carbon and nitrogen present in biologically active layers of the soil.
✺ Within 4’ of the surface, the sun’s heat, oxygen and bacteria interact with human remains to foster rapid, aerobic decomposition, which frees and recycles all the nutrients back into the environment, furthering the environment’s capacity to maintain balance and self-regulate.
✺ Because soil is a synchronized biological matrix, it acts as a filter that prevents foreign materials from greatly changing the balance of its composition. Thus, green burial is not considered an environmental or public health risk according to studies on the effects of mass graves on the environment. Soil also counter acts the chemicals associated with the smell of decomposition, such that a 12-inch soil barrier is thick enough to not attract scavengers, as documented in a 2017 survey of over 150 green burial sites where no disturbance of burial sites was reported.
✺ Minimize your impact on the environment
✺ Enrich the soil, nourish loved ones with this life-giving experience
✺ Leave a living legacy for generations of forest and family
✺ Live sustainably, die sustainably
✺ Save on costs
✺ Embody earth-centered spirituality while enhancing beautiful, sacred woodlands
Conservation burial supports the natural process of the human body’s decomposition in healthy soil, recycling elements from the body into nutrients for the entire ecosystem.
✺ Decomposers, microorganisms, fungi, and insects contribute to recycling the carbon and nitrogen present in biologically active layers of the soil.
✺ Within 4’ of the surface, the sun’s heat, oxygen and bacteria interact with human remains to foster rapid, aerobic decomposition, which frees and recycles all the nutrients back into the environment, furthering the environment’s capacity to maintain balance and self-regulate.
✺ Because soil is a synchronized biological matrix, it acts as a filter that prevents foreign materials from greatly changing the balance of its composition. Thus, green burial is not considered an environmental or public health risk according to studies on the effects of mass graves on the environment. Soil also counter acts the chemicals associated with the smell of decomposition, such that a 12-inch soil barrier is thick enough to not attract scavengers, as documented in a 2017 survey of over 150 green burial sites where no disturbance of burial sites was reported.
“Building community, enhancing holy ground and nourishing the forest with our own bodies–this is a beautiful act.”
—Caitlin Adair, Co-Founder & Coordinator, Living Earth Action Group