A Plain Pine Box: The Greening of American Cemeteries
by Kathleen Everett

It was raining when we got there. Correction: teeming. This was not the gentle day we awakened to, my intrepid companion and I, but we'd driven up from the Hudson Valley to visit Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in Newfield, N.Y. and we were undeterred. As the hydro-apocalypse moved in, we opted to stop at the local Agway. Unencumbered by common sense, we were raincoated, rubberbooted and back on the road with only a minor and OH-so-worth-it delay.

We had been briefed for our visit over lunch with Greensprings' enthusiastic executive director, Joel Rabinowitz. The burial ground is located on 100 acres of hilltop woodlands and meadows in the Finger Lakes region, 15 miles outside of Ithaca. Bounded by 8,000 acres of state and research forest, it's the first and only green burial ground in New York, and one of a growing handful in the country. Greensprings is the product of the combined energies of a beneficent landowner, dedicated volunteers, diversely talented board members and staff who are committed to offering a "sustainable and affordable alternative to conventional cemeteries." The upward winding hills (okay, and MapQuest) led us to the entrance, marked with a rustic painted sign. Parking near the caretaker's cottage, we were guided along mowed paths to the burial areas.

Joel had shown us diagrams for the layout, a schematic of burial plots, each a generous 15 x15 feet in larger grids of 36 sites. He explained that purchasers receive a packet which includes the deed and a map. In addition, there are discreet engineering markers to identify the grids. The eventual plan is for small wooden markers on fence posts—an aesthetically compliant "you are here," or, more to the point, "your dear one is there." This was particularly reassuring to me, who struggles with locating the car in a grocery parking lot.

We galoshed along paths through meadows offering an astonishing variety of both wildflowers and native grasses, stopping to admire the panoramic views made even more impressive by the storm. Within the 100 acres there are several different kinds of plot options. Some lie along the edge of a densely wooded area, others in a hilly zone with mature evergreen trees and stunning views, and still others in the wildflower meadows. A parcel has been set aside awaiting consecration as a Jewish burial ground.

While meandering, we noted that Greensprings doesn't feel like a cemetery. Not, that is, in the lots-of-polished-stone-monuments-to-those-who-have-gone-before kind of way. It feels sacred, to be sure. Intimate. Reverent. The newest graves we noticed are mounds of earth covered with evergreen boughs, marked by stones placed by loved ones at the burial ceremony. The deceased are buried, unembalmed, in a simple wooden box or a shroud. Those less recent, where the ground was settling, were also clearly delineated by stones. The options for a site marker include a flat, unpolished stone, which can be engraved, as well as the eventual planting of trees, native shrubs, or wildflowers. Another area allows the scattering of ashes for those who choose cremation, common worldwide and an increasingly popular choice in the U.S.

In order to understand what makes green burial different, it's important to know some basics about the typical American burial. First, the body of the deceased is often chemically embalmed to make it more attractive for viewing and to briefly postpone decomposition. It is then placed in a wooden or metal casket. When it's time for burial, the casket is placed in a vault (think: bomb shelter for one, hold the snacks) and then into the ground.

Vaults—concrete containers that surround the casket—originally became popular as a foil to grave robbers in the 18th century. They are now a requirement in most cemeteries to prevent the uneven settling of the displaced soil from the burial, to get the terrain back to flat, ASAP. The natural settling of the earth, a threat to surrounding upright headstones and a landscaper's nightmare, can also be rather unsettling to loved ones above.

But for those who want a "dust to dust" kind of disposition, the unmanicured landscape can be an attraction. And here are some numbers that could send environmentalists to an early grave: according to the Green Burial Council, most of the nearly 2.5 million Americans who die each year are buried, anywhere from 800 to 3000 per acre, in small narrow plots. More than 800,000 gallons of embalming fluid, 30 million board feet of top quality rainforest timber, 100,000 tons of steel, and 1.6 million tons of concrete are buried with them.

Joe Sehee, charismatic founder and director of the Green Burial Council, has been working for the past five years to bring environmental awareness to the death care industry. His organization has established specific guidelines for Natural Burial Grounds and Conservation Burial Grounds. The former outlines requirements for eco-friendly cemeteries, regulating everything from visitation to landscaping. Not permitted are embalming, vaults, or manufactured monuments. No pesticides. No fertilizers. Required are land evaluations for environmental impact, restoration of native plants and habitats, and the establishment of a trust to maintain these standards.

The second, more encompassing project, is the Conservation Burial Ground standards. These were developed to help land trusts and other groups use a combination of Natural Burial certification and conservation easements to further their stewardship mission. Historically the land trusts have been hesitant to consider using protected lands as burial grounds due to the lack of regulations governing the burial process. Sehee hopes that these standards will allow for the conservation and protection of a million acres while affording those who seek to protect the earth a way to continue that commitment beyond their stint on the mortal coil.

For all those of you who've said, "Just put me in a plain pine box in the ground, none of that fancy stuff..." here is a chance to put your money where your mouth will be. And, on the subject of that kind of green stuff—natural burials have the added advantage of being remarkably affordable. A 15x15 foot gravesite at Greensprings costs $500 (no sharing!) Discounts are given for purchases of multiple sites.

Green burial is an opportunity to make a statement in death that reflects the choices made in life. For those who are committed to protecting this precious planet, its wildlife and resources, and for those who want to return naturally to the earth and maybe help along a new life in the process, the decision may be simple. But as anyone who has planned a funeral and burial for a loved one knows, the best time to make these arrangements is while you are still here. The grief that accompanies the loss of a loved one makes even the simplest decisions overwhelming. If you have an opinion about where and in what form and in how many layers of packaging you want your earthly remains disposed of, speak up. Talk with the ones who'll miss you dearly. Write it down. It's important. Granted, it can be difficult to discuss your death while you are living; but new research suggests it will be exponentially more so when you are not.