Green Burial Services Spread

The "Green Burial" movement has been spreading since its conception with the first eco-cemetery which was located at Carlisle Cemetery in the United Kingdom in 1993. The idea behind a green burial is that you are not polluting nature with formaldehyde, using a bio-degradable casket or shroud, avoiding the use of wood altogether.

Now, a cemetery in Richmond New Hampshire is offering environmentally friendly green burials. It is thought that this is the first of its kind in New Hampshire and possibly the first in all of New England.The Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria, British Columbia Canada also has a brand new natural burial site, which is also believed to be the first of its kind in Canada.

The burial process is rooted in tradition, but the tradition just so happens to pollute the ground with over 825,000 gallons of formaldehyde each year. With a natural burial the deceased is not buried in a graveyard that has grass, but instead in a forest, meadow or desert where the body can decompose naturally amongst the natural landscape. Often when the deceased is buried in the forest, trees are then planted on top of the grave as a marker, as opposed to the traditional headstone. Local boulders and rocks are also used as a non-traditional headstone. 

NHPR Audio About the new Richmond Green Burials: http://nhpr.org/audio/audio/nht-2008-09-24-dm1.wax