Victoria Times - Colonist
Victoria, the cremation capital of North America, might be the first to have a “green-burial” site.
People have been looking for environmentally friendly options when it comes to death, said Stephen Olson of Royal Oak Burial Park, which is about 18 months away from opening a half-acre site dedicated to so-called green burials.
Recent concerns about emissions from crematoriums and their impact on global warming have fuelled interest in green burials, Olson said.
A person opting for a green burial isn’t embalmed, nor will the grave have a concrete liner like those commonly used to resist decomposition. Instead, bodies are wrapped in shrouds or clothing made from biodegradable material and put in biodegradable caskets.
Green burials are growing in popularity in the U.S. and Britain, but have yet to gain a foothold in Canada.
Joe Sehee, founder and executive director of the U.S. Green Burial Council, said there are no green-burial sites in Canada although there have been many inquiries about setting them up.
Olson said the Royal Oak site will be left in a natural state, with no memorials or gravestones allowed. There will be a common memorial at the entrance listing the people interred there. Trees and shrubs will be permitted as a way of marking plots, and no pesticides will be used in grounds maintenance.
A 2006 report from the chief medical officer of British Columbia noted there are no legal requirements for emission controls on crematoriums in the province although technology exists to minimize emissions and associated risks.
The Memorial Society of British Columbia is working to make green burials available, along with appropriate standards. Olson said the Royal Oak site will be governed by current cemetery legislation.
However, green-burial advocates want regulations that would ensure consistent standards are met.
Olson said other cemeteries are working to establish green- burial sites, but it appears Royal Oak will be the first — or close to it — to open one on Vancouver Island. Sehee said interest in green burials is driven by three groups. One is interested because they want cheap burials. The second, the funeral service industry, “sees this as a great opportunity and they don’t want to disrupt conventional practices in the industry. They just want to ‘green’ them up,” Sehee said.
“In the middle, you have a movement that is trying to do green burials that facilitate the natural restoration and stewardship of natural areas.”
Sehee described a 10-acre green-burial site operated by a non- profit partner who is using donations from people wanting to be buried there to purchase an adjacent 1,000 acres to be left in a natural state.