Resources and Information Supporting Green Burial in North America
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.
Bodies wrapped in shroud, placed in biodegradable caskets
By Carolyn Heiman, Victoria Times Colonist
A Saanich cemetery is working on 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.
The Vancouver Sun
Want to be kind to Mother Nature in death as in life? Consider planning a green burial.
Bodies are interred unembalmed in a biodegradable casket or shroud and graves do not contain liners, to allow remains to break down naturally. Graves may be marked by the planting of wildflowers or shrubs. The Ontario-based Natural Burial Cooperative calls the concept an ecologically responsive alternative to traditional burial that reduces resource consumption and offers families a way to honour a loved one’s values after death.
Although there are no dedicated green burial lands yet in Canada, the Natural Burial Cooperative is working toward opening its first site in Ontario.
Eco-friendly burials eschew headstones, embalming and pricey caskets made from exotic imported wood
By Nancy J. White, Toronto Star
Imagine a gently sloping hill covered with fallen leaves, green ferns and bright wildflowers, the branches of sturdy oaks and maples arching overhead. Birds chirp in the trees. Squirrels and chipmunks scamper on the ground.
Now imagine yourself buried underneath.
By Peter Nowak and Emily Mathieu. National Post.
Cremation? How boring. From being shot into space to being turned into jewellery, here are 10 creative ways to be launched into the next world
Whitehorse Star
A recent letter to the editor (Whitehorse Star, Sept. 22) commented on burial costs.
Specifically, it questioned the cost, and the need, of a protective plastic box that is placed around coffins. This prevents the ground from subsiding as the coffin and its contents decay.
By Rebecca James, Syracuse Post-Standard
Susan Thomas’ dog bounds across the field, leaping out of the underbrush that covers the southern Tompkins County hilltop, intent on the scent of some small creature. Meanwhile, Thomas and Ed Oyer talk about death. The artist and the retired professor both like the idea of finding stone benches for this land where the names of the dead can be inscribed.
By David Sheffield, The Link
My grandmother ended her journey through this life a couple of months ago. She had lived generously and she died well. When the time came to look into funeral arrangements, we found that she had pre-planned, pre-paid, and taken care of all of the details herself. She was an independent gal right to the end.
The funeral home she had chosen was outstanding in their attention to her wishes and our feelings as we grieved her loss. As I observed the process of how we deal with the death of our loved ones, however, it became apparent to me that something as simple and natural as death may have become unnecessarily complicated.
Saanich News. Victoria, B.C.
When you shuffle off your mortal coil, have you always yearned to be buried in the damp, cedar-scented soil of Saanich? Better act now.The Royal Oak Burial Park is running out of space. In four years, all of the plots will be sold out in the municipal cemetery that began operation in 1922.
Guelph Tribune. (letter)
I was interested in the discussion at Woodlawn Memorial Park of making burials green (Tribune, June 17).
A major reason that I long ago determined that I wanted my body cremated has to do with our burial customs. When an animal dies in the forest, if its body is not eaten by a predator it immediately begins to decompose in contact with the surrounding soil, which is ultimately enriched by the process.
When we bury human bodies they are put in a coffin with thick walls, and the coffin is lowered into a lined grave, so that it must be years before the body becomes part of the environment.
I am aware that for many people, a person’s spirit remains with a body long after death. I believe, of course, in life after death. But I believe that life begins at once. And while a person’s remains should be treated with respect, the body should not be unnecessarily preserved.
Don Ewing
Guelph