The idea of green burials (also called “natural burials”) is to minimize harmful effects on the environment in one’s burial process. There is no ‘one size fits all’ in making green burial decisions, but a variety of options depending on availability and the families’ desires.

In an ideal green burial, maximum efforts are made to minimize use of carbon fuels (manufacturing processes, transportation fuels) and embalming fluids. Additionally, efforts are made to afford the body the opportunity to more readily return to nature in the nature process of millennia. No concrete vault is manufactured, transported in and used to separate the body from the earth. No embalming of the body. No casket is manufactured, transported and used; but some readily bio-gradable alternative. No granite or bronze monument is erected, nor concrete foundation below the monument, saving further on manufacturing and transport carbon fuels costs. Often, the burial location is located in a preservation woods with a GPS chip buried with the body for future visiting and location. Traditional cemetery use of ‘green burials’ is discouraged because of the long term mowing maintenance and its use of hydrocarbon fuels for the mowers. The grave is hand dug to eliminate hydrocarbon machine use. More can be learned by visiting the Natural Burial Association at http://naturalburialassoc.ca/who-who.html

Cremation, because it typically requires high content of hydrocarbon fuels to convert the body to ashes is considered not ‘green’ by some, but is thought ‘green’ by others because it arguably causes less impact to the environment than a more traditional burial. In response, there is another means of cremation that involves emersion in caustic water solutions (called by some ‘water cremation’) that accelerates the conversion from tissue to elemental compounds without use of fuels. Currently, water cremations are not available in Kentucky. See, http://thefuneralsite.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/cremation-by-water/

Natural burials are more popular on the east and west coasts in America, and the trend is growing.

In Brookland Cemetery, we do not require embalming or a traditional casket. We also do not mandate a monument. Until this year Brookland hand dug all of its graves, and still could if the family desired. We do require a vault for ground settlement purposes; however, a ‘green’ compromise for the vault is to lay the unembalmed body in its bio-degradable container directly on the earth, and place the vault upside down (without use of the vault top) over the body. This acceptable means of burial in Brookland Cemetery permits the body its natural uninterrupted return to nature, with minimum environment impact of the vault use. Our funeral home, Schoppenhorst-Underwood and Brooks Funeral Home, would assist a family desiring this form of ‘green burial’.

This writer is unaware of any other cemetery or funeral home in this area that offers any form of natural burials. We are also unaware of any nature preserve in this region of that offers burials in a woods environment. Brookland Cemetery has considered acquiring woodlands in order to offer a fully ‘natural burial’ absent vault and cemetery maintenance, but alas, to date, has had no local public inquiry interest in the product. We applaud and welcome any interest in