Our June Newsletter: To Lie Down in Green Pastures: What is a Green Burial? ??
Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Funeral Homes
Now in our 100th year of service.
"Take care of the land... someday you'll be a part of it" - Unknown?
What is a Green Burial?
Green Burial allows a human body to decompose and return to the earth naturally with the least environmental consequence. The deceased?are not prepared using chemical embalming fluids: instead,?they are placed in simple shrouds or biodegradable caskets.?Concrete vaults are not used, nor are traditional grave markers such as headstones or?footstones. Usually, the spot remains unmarked?in keeping with the low-impact ethos of the movement. Eventually?the plot can, and should, be used again. There are numerous debates and topics of investigation currently being explored within the green burial movement. This newsletter?presents an overview of them.
THE?PRINCIPLES OF A GREEN BURIAL
Bodies are prepared for green burial without the use of embalming chemicals used in a traditional process. Instead, the body is prepared with the use of sensitive disinfectants.
The body is wrapped in a shroud made of natural, biodegradable fibers and then buried directly in the grave. Alternatively, the shrouded remains can be placed into a casket or alternative form of container?made of sustainable and fully biodegradable materials. No outside grave liner or protective vault is used. The body, in a shroud or casket, decomposes naturally in the soil.
Once a green burial has taken place, the surface of the grave is allowed to settle before being restored with species of grasses, flowering ground covers, shrubs, and trees. Preferably grave restoration is achieved by using a plant palette and plan that has been designed to integrate the area seamlessly into the surrounding landscape and ecosystem.
For green burial, memorialization should be simple and visually appropriate to the site. Alternatively, small, hand-crafted, individual monuments may also be used, but these should be made of natural, preferably locally sourced materials.
A well-planned green burial cemetery (or green burial section of an existing cemetery) will optimize the land it occupies. Design elements will include minimal infrastructure such as temporary roads that can eventually be converted into interment lots. In a green cemetery, both the lot size (smaller than traditional ones) and plot layouts are designed to maximize interment capacity.?Reusing graves is a highly sustainable practice that optimizes land use in a green burial cemetery.?
MISCONCEPTIONS: PEOPLE THINK GREEN BURIAL IS ...??
Green burial is the way that humanity has traditionally cared for their dead. Simple in-ground burial is an effective, respectful form of disposition, and is recognized as one of the earliest rituals of human civilization.
The purposeful burial of bodies has been traced as far back as 62,000 years ago to the Neanderthals at the Shanidar Cave in Northern Iraq. The deceased were found to have been placed in graves lined with pine boughs and wildflowers along with food, charcoal, weapons, and stone tools.
By about 10,000 BCE and the appearance of the Cro-Magnons, our human ancestors were carefully laying out their dead in the fetal position, covering them with powder, wrapping them with animal skins, and placing them in graves lined with reed mats set atop cut branches.
Green burial costs are?similar to those of a full-service cremation. Some?people who choose cremation also opt to omit?embalming and use a simple cremation container rather than traditionally buying a casket, which keeps the costs similar. Both options also allow loved ones to gather to?say their?goodbyes at a gathering, whether it be?a funeral, celebration of life, witnessing of cremation, or graveside service.
Direct cremation is?where the body is cremated right away without a service. This?is generally more affordable than the average green burial. Should?you wish to hold a private memorial service for your loved one after their cremation, those costs will need to be considered as well.?
Green burial is a steadily growing trend reflecting the values of people from all walks of life. The modern green burial movement arose in the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s and by the late ‘90s, there were many green burial cemeteries (also called “woodland cemeteries”) being established throughout the UK. The green burial trend, expanding on an international scale, is also telling us this is not a service just for environmentalists. Green burial, is?inherently more environmentally sensitive, and leaves little or no long term impacts on the soil. This makes it an attractive alternative to more and more people, from every generation and every segment of society.
TYPES OF GREEN BURIALS:
1. Natural burial: let the earth do the work?
Perhaps the greenest option is a simple natural burial, a return to the way many of our ancestors were buried. Natural burial uses only biodegradable products to bury the deceased. Families choose simple shrouds and earth-friendly caskets. You can even be buried without a casket and wrapped only in a?shroud.
Natural burial lets the earth do its genius work transforming the human body into rich, healthy soil to nourish the ground, which feeds plants and animals. A green burial reduces the deposits of toxins in the soil?and replenishes healthy, organism-rich soil through organic decomposition.
For those who do want a funeral viewing?however, there are green alternatives. Green embalming fluids are an option. The GBC (Green Burial Society of Canada) certifies four alternative which are both green and effective.
2. Body compost: a faster decomposition?
Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), also called human composting, is a new and innovative death care alternative. Like natural burial, it transforms the human body into rich, living soil at a much faster rate of 30-45 days.
The NOR process begins by wrapping the body in a biodegradable cloth and cradling it into a vessel, usually made of steel. Under and over the body is a blanket and bed of organic matter like alfalfa, wood chips, straw, and wildflowers. The vessel and its contents are carefully tended for about?30-45 days.?During the process, the temperature inside the container reaches about 140°, creating the prime environment for microbes to transform the body into soil. When the flesh is decomposed, bones and teeth remain. They are reduced to powder, just as with?cremation and returned to the soil. Loved ones can take home some or all of the composted soil to spread as a memorial in gardens or around trees. Some people choose to donate the soil to local land restoration projects.?
Manufacturing,?distribution, and infrastructure?is still required to develop composting sites. NOR doesn’t completely reduce your carbon footprint.?
3. Tree pod burial: become a tree?
In 2016, a fascinating new idea was introduced to the deathcare industry. Two Italian designers, Adriano Del Ferro and Francesco D'Angelo, unveiled their dream of burying bodies under a tree seedling. They call the concept Capsula Mundi, a cocoon tree pod burial.
In a meaningful design reminiscent of new birth, the body is wrapped in a natural fiber shroud and placed into an egg-shaped capsule. The womb-like vessel is lowered into the ground, and a tree is planted directly over it. As the body decays and transforms into healthy soil, it nourishes the tree. Some consider the process a physical transformation into the tree – a rebirth in the cycle of life.
The concept is still being developed, but the vision is to plant the cocoons in restoration and conservation areas. Rather than visiting a tombstone, loved ones can visit the tree using GPS coordinates of the burial site. Green critics say burial in a tree pod disturbs more earth by requiring deeper holes. In addition, even though the pod is biodegradable, manufacturing, storing, and shipping the pods increases the carbon footprint of this process.
领英推荐
With such a new idea, the cocoon tree pod burial cost is not yet known.?
4. Biodegradable urns: ashes to trees??
Innovators have designed these urns to memorialize cremated remains?in an eco-friendly way.?To plant the urn, the ashes are placed first in the bottom. An additive to balance pH is then placed on top of the ashes. Next, the roots of a young tree are set into the urn and surrounded with planting soil. The urn is planted directly into the ground, where a living memorial grows for loved ones to visit. 5. Water cremation: a tenth of the carbon footprint?
The body gently decomposes with water and a small amount of potassium hydroxide. Scientifically known as alkaline hydrolysis, the process takes around 16 hours. The process is also more commonly known as; Aquamation.
The body is first placed into a large stainless-steel cylinder. The water solution then passes around the body at a near-boiling temperature. Some systems process the body quicker using higher temperatures up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Soon the body is dissolved and transformed into a liquid of amino acids, salts, peptides, sugars, and soap. Like flame cremation and human composting, the bones are processed into a fine powder and returned as “ashes” to loved ones.
Surprisingly, the liquid is so clean and altered that the solution can safely drain into the sewer system. Alkaline hydrolysis breaks down environmental pollutants present in the body such as pharmaceuticals, reducing their potential impact on the environment. Waste managers say the process even improves their systems because the liquid feeds the bacteria that decompose sewage.?
However, alkaline hydrolysis isn’t purely green. 80 gallons of water are used to process one body. Manufacturing, storing, and distributing the machines also leaves a carbon footprint.
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6. Mushroom suit: not as great as it seems?
In 2011, artist Jae Rhim Lee presented an alluring idea to a fascinated?TEDTalk audience: a burial suit woven with fungi to hasten the decomposition process. She argued natural burial doesn’t thoroughly break down normal human toxins.
Despite the great idea, her claim?was unfounded. Nature’s process is brilliant at breaking down?the many toxins sometimes present in the human body before they leach into the earth.
Naturally, the body’s own bacteria are the first organisms to start decomposition. Fungi from the earth join the process later. Adding them to a burial shroud doesn’t necessarily speed up the process.
Ultimately, green burial options are scientifically intriguing; however, they are not always as eco-friendly as one might assume. Nonetheless, they offer opportunities to personalize a burial to reflect your beliefs, ethics, and spirituality.
In recent years, there has been a greater interest by families in selecting biodegradable urns. For example, some urns are specifically designed for scattering a person's cremated remains. Others, intended for water burials, initially float, then sink, and eventually dissolve in water. Some urns are crafted by mixing sand with biodegradable bonding agents which decompose over time, allowing the soil, the urn itself, and the cremated remains to integrate. One appealing design, made of clay and coffee grounds, is meant to support the growth of a new seedling. If interested in viewing a selection of biodegradable urns, please visit our website at?https://www.hpmcgarry.ca/
Whether or not you choose a green option for your funeral, it's important to prepare in advance —??even if it's just having a short conversation with loved ones to make sure they know your wishes.?
Memorial Tree Planting Program?
Hulse, Playfair & McGarry has planted a living legacy of over 30,000 trees. Since 2001, we have collaborated with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority to plant local, native seedlings in honor of each family we serve.?
The RVCA plants and tends combinations of white cedar, white pine, red oak and sugar maple — all strong, long-lived native Canadian species that thrive in the local Rideau Valley landscape.
We have now surpassed 30,000 trees planted, reforesting an estimated 37.5 acres of local land to create new habitats, clean the air and water, capture carbon and contribute to vibrant, healthy communities.?
Memorial trees have the unique ability to provide enduring peace for family and friends, especially knowing that the Foundation will care for them in perpetuity.
In The Community?
We had an incredible time this year as sponsors of the Lawyers for Kids Charity Hockey Tournament benefiting the YMCA of the National Capital Region. The event raised $35,200 in support of The Y.(L - R) Bobby McGarry with his father, Brett McGarry, co-organizer of the Lawyers for Kids Charity Hockey Tournament, alongside Brett’s uncle, event co-founder Richard Moore, and Brett’s mother, Sharon McGarry , President of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Funeral Homes .
Story via Ottawa Business Journal . Photo by Caroline Phillips .
Our Funeral Preplanning Counselor, Anna Silverman , delivered?a presentation on Green Burials at our Wakefield location last month.
This newsletter contains excerpts from Green Burial Ottawa Valley, Journalist Chloe Rose Stuart-Ulin for CBC Life, Talk Death, Health News, French Funerals and the Green Burial Society of Canada.