What Is Green Burial?
The Green Burial Council, a national educational and certifying organization, defines it this way: Green burial is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, the reduction of carbon emissions, the protection of worker health, and the restoration and protection of habitat.
Photo courtesy of Kallyn Boehmer, Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, NC
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Photo courtesy of Carolina Memorial Sanctuary, NC
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Photo courtesy of Kimberley Campbell, Ramsey Creek Preserve, SC
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What are the basics of green burial?
Natural burial is full body burial without impediment. There are four major criteria for natural burial:
What is different about the experience of attending a natural burial?
Conventional burials in church or municipal cemeteries are prone to open, manicured lawn spaces that maximize the number of burials (carrying capacity) on the property, accessed by paved roadways, and allow large monuments. In contrast, natural burial grounds encourage native plantings, minimum but tasteful maintenance of gravesites, walking and non-motorized trails, more open and varied burial patterns and carrying capacity, and flat markers that use native stone or other less resource intensive memorialization methods, such as QR code downloads of photos, videos, poems, and music, or cenotaphs in meditation spaces. Depending on the type of cemetery and its particular layout, a natural burial may look more like a conventional lawn or more like a woodland setting.
What are the different types of green burial grounds?
The Green Burial Council certifies three levels of cemetery:
Hybrid—local or municipal cemeteries that continue to accept vaults and embalmed bodies in metal caskets but that provide additional space for natural burial.
Natural—cemeteries that do follow the four major criteria above, usually employing conservation best practices.
Conservation—natural cemeteries located land affiliated with a land trust that partners with the cemetery entity in a conservation easement or other tool meant to protect the property.
Why do we need green burial?
Climate change awareness has put a spotlight on death-related pollution and natural resource usage. By eliminating or reducing concrete manufacturing, denuding of the Amazon rainforest for exotic hard woods, carbon footprints of transporting materials around the globe, and toxic chemical preservation, we can reduce our death footprint to nearly nothing when buried naturally. With more people recognizing the contrast between resource and emissions-heavy cremation processes and natural burial, and seeing the value in protecting land that is used to replenish the earth's soil reserves, we stand to make a difference in people's lives and the planet's survival.
What else happens in natural burial grounds besides funerals?
Natural cemeteries are places for the living as well as the dead. Educational classes and research, musical and community events, hiking, birdwatching, and celebrations of other lifecycle events are the norm.
Is it dangerous to water sources?
No. Studies have shown that what creates "cemetery plume" are the things that go in the ground with the body, not the body itself, such as leaching metals and chemicals. Soil filters and fixes anything that is not used in the way of nutrients. Nothing from a lone body leaches anywhere, especially into ground water and aquifers, if buried 5 feet above seasonal water tables.
Can and do animals disturb graves?
No. Burials at 3.5 to 4 feet provide an 18-24 inch smell barrier. Animals are much more interested in living prey above ground than in working that hard even if they could smell it. (See Real Answers to Questions Real People Ask about Green Burial)
How long does it take for a body to completely decompose?
Depending on soil, oxygen, and moisture, it may take up to 2 months for the soft tissue to be absorbed and anywhere from 2 -20 years for the bone to be fully broken down. (See The Science Behind Green Burial)
What about soil?
The key to good soils is a mix of good drainage and some clay to help with absorbing organic compounds and making a home for microbial communities, beetles, and other natural processes that result in efficient decomposition. (See The Science Behind Green Burial)
Can a tree be planted over a full body burial?
No. Natural decomposition creates heat when microbes and soil do their work. Saplings require from 4-6 gallons of water a day for several months to establish. That much water would extinguish the decomposition process and create the opposite conditions for efficient completion. Many green burial cemeteries plant trees as part of their restoration plan in other locations, dedicating them to those buried elsewhere.
What kind of memorial stone can be installed?
Most green burial cemeteries accept stone from the local area, and many provide stone found on the property. Flat markers are preferable to upright ones so they naturalize easily. Other forms of permanent memorialization are often offered, including digital uploads from QR codes located on or nearby, engraving on memorial walls or paving stones, or permanent art installations that include names and dedications.
Can bodies be buried in winter in Maine?
Yes, and more cemeteries are suspending their moratoriums on winter burial due to greater access due to lower snow levels and warmer winter temperatures. There are all kinds of ways to open grave space in winter regardless of snow load and frost depth. Some cemeteries prepare spaces in advance to be able to accommodate burials during the winter months. (See Opening, Closing and Maintenance of a Green Burial Grave)
Can cremated remains be buried in green burial cemeteries?
Yes, though they are not preferred. Cremated remains are essentially calcium phosphate and sodium, and because of incineration, there are no nutrients available, and the pH is between 200 - 2000 times too alkaline to support plant life. The process of cremation, whether flame, alkaline hydrolysis,, or natural organic reduction, leaves residual matter that must be disposed of, including gallons of effluent and cubic yards of bark mulch. As a result, many green burial cemeteries prefer to limit cremation burials. Some will accept bone remains as a courtesy to families, but other materials must be disposed of in wastewater treatment plants or used as restoration fill.
Does green burial cost more than conventional burial or cremation?
Green burial plots are likely going to cost the same as the going rate in a local cemetery in your region, though it may be possible that higher fees go toward conservation efforts. Most green burial grounds do not collect perpetual care funds, as there is no site maintenance such as mowing, weed control, or monument cleaning. Direct cremation can sometimes cost less, but the price doesn't take into account any burial fees or services. In New England, you can expect to pay around $1500 - $2500 for cremation, $200 - $4000 for a conventional or green burial plot. Natural organic reduction fees, in addition to funeral and transport fees, range between $3500 - $7000, and alkaline hydrolysis is around $3600.
Natural burial is full body burial without impediment. There are four major criteria for natural burial:
- Full body burial at 3.5-4 feet depth
- No vaults
- Biodegradable containers
- Non-invasive, non-toxic body care
What is different about the experience of attending a natural burial?
Conventional burials in church or municipal cemeteries are prone to open, manicured lawn spaces that maximize the number of burials (carrying capacity) on the property, accessed by paved roadways, and allow large monuments. In contrast, natural burial grounds encourage native plantings, minimum but tasteful maintenance of gravesites, walking and non-motorized trails, more open and varied burial patterns and carrying capacity, and flat markers that use native stone or other less resource intensive memorialization methods, such as QR code downloads of photos, videos, poems, and music, or cenotaphs in meditation spaces. Depending on the type of cemetery and its particular layout, a natural burial may look more like a conventional lawn or more like a woodland setting.
What are the different types of green burial grounds?
The Green Burial Council certifies three levels of cemetery:
Hybrid—local or municipal cemeteries that continue to accept vaults and embalmed bodies in metal caskets but that provide additional space for natural burial.
Natural—cemeteries that do follow the four major criteria above, usually employing conservation best practices.
Conservation—natural cemeteries located land affiliated with a land trust that partners with the cemetery entity in a conservation easement or other tool meant to protect the property.
Why do we need green burial?
Climate change awareness has put a spotlight on death-related pollution and natural resource usage. By eliminating or reducing concrete manufacturing, denuding of the Amazon rainforest for exotic hard woods, carbon footprints of transporting materials around the globe, and toxic chemical preservation, we can reduce our death footprint to nearly nothing when buried naturally. With more people recognizing the contrast between resource and emissions-heavy cremation processes and natural burial, and seeing the value in protecting land that is used to replenish the earth's soil reserves, we stand to make a difference in people's lives and the planet's survival.
What else happens in natural burial grounds besides funerals?
Natural cemeteries are places for the living as well as the dead. Educational classes and research, musical and community events, hiking, birdwatching, and celebrations of other lifecycle events are the norm.
Is it dangerous to water sources?
No. Studies have shown that what creates "cemetery plume" are the things that go in the ground with the body, not the body itself, such as leaching metals and chemicals. Soil filters and fixes anything that is not used in the way of nutrients. Nothing from a lone body leaches anywhere, especially into ground water and aquifers, if buried 5 feet above seasonal water tables.
Can and do animals disturb graves?
No. Burials at 3.5 to 4 feet provide an 18-24 inch smell barrier. Animals are much more interested in living prey above ground than in working that hard even if they could smell it. (See Real Answers to Questions Real People Ask about Green Burial)
How long does it take for a body to completely decompose?
Depending on soil, oxygen, and moisture, it may take up to 2 months for the soft tissue to be absorbed and anywhere from 2 -20 years for the bone to be fully broken down. (See The Science Behind Green Burial)
What about soil?
The key to good soils is a mix of good drainage and some clay to help with absorbing organic compounds and making a home for microbial communities, beetles, and other natural processes that result in efficient decomposition. (See The Science Behind Green Burial)
Can a tree be planted over a full body burial?
No. Natural decomposition creates heat when microbes and soil do their work. Saplings require from 4-6 gallons of water a day for several months to establish. That much water would extinguish the decomposition process and create the opposite conditions for efficient completion. Many green burial cemeteries plant trees as part of their restoration plan in other locations, dedicating them to those buried elsewhere.
What kind of memorial stone can be installed?
Most green burial cemeteries accept stone from the local area, and many provide stone found on the property. Flat markers are preferable to upright ones so they naturalize easily. Other forms of permanent memorialization are often offered, including digital uploads from QR codes located on or nearby, engraving on memorial walls or paving stones, or permanent art installations that include names and dedications.
Can bodies be buried in winter in Maine?
Yes, and more cemeteries are suspending their moratoriums on winter burial due to greater access due to lower snow levels and warmer winter temperatures. There are all kinds of ways to open grave space in winter regardless of snow load and frost depth. Some cemeteries prepare spaces in advance to be able to accommodate burials during the winter months. (See Opening, Closing and Maintenance of a Green Burial Grave)
Can cremated remains be buried in green burial cemeteries?
Yes, though they are not preferred. Cremated remains are essentially calcium phosphate and sodium, and because of incineration, there are no nutrients available, and the pH is between 200 - 2000 times too alkaline to support plant life. The process of cremation, whether flame, alkaline hydrolysis,, or natural organic reduction, leaves residual matter that must be disposed of, including gallons of effluent and cubic yards of bark mulch. As a result, many green burial cemeteries prefer to limit cremation burials. Some will accept bone remains as a courtesy to families, but other materials must be disposed of in wastewater treatment plants or used as restoration fill.
Does green burial cost more than conventional burial or cremation?
Green burial plots are likely going to cost the same as the going rate in a local cemetery in your region, though it may be possible that higher fees go toward conservation efforts. Most green burial grounds do not collect perpetual care funds, as there is no site maintenance such as mowing, weed control, or monument cleaning. Direct cremation can sometimes cost less, but the price doesn't take into account any burial fees or services. In New England, you can expect to pay around $1500 - $2500 for cremation, $200 - $4000 for a conventional or green burial plot. Natural organic reduction fees, in addition to funeral and transport fees, range between $3500 - $7000, and alkaline hydrolysis is around $3600.
Image courtesy of Lee Webster, New Hampshire Funeral Resources, Education & Advocacy, March 30, 2024
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Abbreviated carbon chart courtesy of Lee Webster and Dr. Billy Campbell, from Carbon Benefits of Conservation Burial
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Image below: Ramsey Creek Preserve, Westminster, SC
