Michigan has several options for natural burial, including The Preserve at All Saints Cemetery in Waterford (must be Catholic) and Marble Park Cemetery in Milan.  They are both “hybrid” cemeteries; we still don’t have a cemetery that is dedicated 100% to natural burial.  It’s very difficult to establish one.  We are talking about a changing paradigm here, and it’s financially risky.  But I think the trend is toward more people wanting a green burial.  Joe Sehee, of the Green Burial Council, states that one of five seniors wants a green burial.  (I think the number is much higher for baby boomers and younger.)

Keep asking your local cemetery for this option, if that’s what you want.  If it applies, make it clear that you are just asking for a vault-less burial.  Settling of the earth and grass growth are surmountable obstacles if we work on changing attitudes about what is aesthetically acceptable.

These ladies discussed green burial last week.  Check it out.  It’s true, no state requires routine embalming.  But if you want to have a visitation with friends, you gotta have a home funeral.  And that requires planning ahead.  Aaaahhhh!  Who wants to talk about that????

I’ve heard some people say, “I just want to go off into the woods to die,” or, “I just want to be composted.”

I wish it was that simple!  Many of us want our final act on earth to be supportive to the environment and be relatively simple for those who remain.  Within the realm of what is possible, however, what do you want?  Do you want to be buried in a shroud or basket?  Do you want others to be able to dig the hole and put your body in it?  Is it important to you or those who care for you to be able to visit the site?  Or mark the site?

Is it more important what you want or what those who remain want?

These are not simple questions, nor are their simple solutions.  And views and options are changing all the time.  I think if we keep thinking about it and asking for what we want, it will be possible.  What do you think?

There are many shades of green.  What might be possible in a cemetery located near farmland may not be possible in a cemetery within city limits.  Is it possible to incorporate some aspects of “green burial” and still be environmentally friendlier?

I recently had an experience talking to city administrators about doing a vault-less burial in an old city cemetery.  When “Green Burial” was the focus, we didn’t get anywhere.  They went to the internet and quickly ruled it out.  When we modified our approach to be more clear about what we were specifically looking for, we started to make progress.

Using the term “natural burial” might help.  What aspects of conventional practices can be modified and still be attractive to environmentally-aware folks?  The decision is yours.  What are you looking for?  What are you willing to compromise on?  And what is possible when compromises are made?

Do we still have to sacrifice the golden standards for Green Burial?  No, I think reaching for and holding the ideal must be done.  But change happens slowly, and we have to start somewhere.  It does not have to be all or nothing.

What are the implications of this?  We can make a change.  Cemeteries all over are thinking about how to accommodate people’s wishes and keep current in the market.  It think it’s the first step toward having new cemeteries that are ONLY green burial as a means to restore the land and extend green belts.  We need to keep asking and raising awareness to move in that direction.

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