A Green Funeral

In the veld in a place where the vultures would see,
he stood naked and killed the cancer with a single shot.

The headlines were sensational, censorious the words,
but Gaia received him without comment and asked no fee.

Too deep for the roots of trees, most lie boxed and rot,
while he is grown in the grass and flown in the birds.

A Poem by James A. Harrison



Links that explore the concept of a green funeral:

Kinkaraco - Green Funeral Products and Cemetery Guide

Green Burial Council

Treehugger: Leave a Lighter Footprint, Green Funeral and Burial Tips

Green Burials ...Return Naturally

Eternal Reefs

Riverview Natural Burial Grounds at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Forever Fernwood: Natural Cemetery

GreenSprings Natural Cemetery

Final Footprint: Natural Burial Products

Natural Burial Company (facebook)

Green Pet-Burial Society (facebook)

AARP: Green Graveyards

MSNBC: Green Graves Give Back to Nature

Nature's Caskets

NY Times: Green Blog - Into the Great Green Beyond

MidWest Green Burial: Shrouds and Coffins

Hudson Valley Green Burial Association (facebook)

National Geographic: Green Burials Offer Unique, Less Costly Goodbyes

Best Friends Blog: A place of respect and solace (blessing ceremony to honor pets)

BBC News: Can You Be Buried Anywhere?

Mother Earth News: Greener Ways to the Great Beyond

Everplans: Choosing Green Headstones and Gravemarkers


Green Funeral tip!

Many people long for a memorial headstone, but some woodsy or wildflower green burial sites do not permit any grave markings to keep everything "au natural." I know that often towns offer "engraved bricks" as part of special parks or new building projects. For about a $50 donation, you can engrave your loved one's name into a brick that will become part of your favorite local site. Google news search "engraved brick" to find current brick/paver engraving opportunities. My loved one's name is engraved on a brick overlooking Lake Tahoe that was offered as part of a 4-H Camp beautification project; it's a perfect alternative :)


Grave Matters Blog: A Natural Way of Burial

Green Burial on Pinterest

Funeral Search: Woodland, Green and Environmentally-Friendly Funerals

Backyard Nature: Eco Funerals Are Life Affirming

Living Legacies: Environmental Funeral FAQ

Wikipedia: Natural Burial

Memorial Ecosystems

Beliefnet: Opting for Eco-Friendly Graves

How Yoga Can Prepare Us for Death - Yoga Journal

Eco-Coffins.com

Full Circle of Care: Funerals, Cremations, and Honoring the Dead

SFGate: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Mulch

A Will for the Woods (documentary film)

Dr. Weil - Being With Dying



Rush Inter Pet Cemetery
(has a natural burial section where my girl Magpie is planted :)


The dead and buried
become trees
who lift up their arms
to call the deaf.
With their long fingers
and green tongues,
they divulge the secrets
of the Earth's heart.

-Mevlana Rumi, Sufi Mystic-








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