An Introduction

Our organization is looking to start the first natural burial cemetery in Minnesota. Often called a green cemetery, a conservation cemetery, a memorial nature preserve or a memorial landscape, a natural burial cemetery allows us to remember our family and friends in a dignified manner while giving back to mother nature. Loved ones are buried without the use of embalming fluids, costly caskets, or concrete vaults. Biodegradable caskets or cotton shrouds will be used as an alternative to expensive leak-proof caskets. In place of headstones, we envision native plants that will thrive in the nutrient-rich soil and thus, the life cycle will continue. We acknowledge and respect the need for family members to return to love ones’ gravesides as part of the grieving process. Modern technology, in the form of GPS coordinates and hand-held equipment, will make this possible. And while the environmental benefits of land conservation and restoration are straightforward, natural burial is appealing for many other reasons. Included are monetary savings, spiritual or religious commitments, cultural ideals and both educational and recreational opportunities for the greater community. We will elaborate on these points in future blogs; in the mean time, this related link is a great resource: http://www.greenburialcouncil.org/