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Dying and Death Options |
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Natural
and Green Burial Options
On
this page:
 General
Information about Burial Remains
Information
on Natural death and burial in Canada
 Information
on Natural Death and Burial in various Provinces
Memorial
Societies of Canada - by province
Janet's
Story - Victoria, B.C.
U.S.A.
General
Information
on Green Burials in the various U.S.A. states
U.K.
Resources for Natural or Green burials
in the U.K.
Resources
for Funeral Arrangements
Bio-degradable
coffins
General
Information about Burial Remains and Green Burials
 The
Centre for Natural Burial 
development on Green Burials around the world
Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and natural burial
developments in New Zealand, Asia, South Africa and China
Overview of Natural
burial in Wikipedia
Green
Burial Council
developing eco-friendly end-of-life rituals, protecting the
legitimate benefits of environmentally sustainable deathcare,
and use burial as a means of acquiring, restoring, and stewarding
natural areas
registery of approved Funeral Providers, Cemeteries, and Cremation
Disposition Programs for the U.S. and Canada
North
American Woodland Burial Society
society directed at furthering woodland burials in the US.and
elsewhere
P.O.V.
FAQs about burial remains
Mother
Earth News
FAQs about remains (includes some Canadian
information)
Eco
Coffins and Earth-Friendly Funerals
general information
Canada
Information
on Natural death and burial in Canada
Natural
Burial Cooperative
information on the development of Green Burial grounds in
Canada
The
Natural
Burial Association
(of Canada)
an association to further the development of Green Burial
grounds in Canada
Canadian
Provincial Laws Re: Green Burial
Policy (by Forest
of Memories)
From
the Natural
Death Centre From Mike Salisbury: "Those
interested in the development of natural burial grounds in
Canada may find a recently completed Landscape Architecture
Thesis - A Feasibility Study of the Woodland Cemetery in Canada
- of interest. The
thesis outlines the historical precedents leading to the development
of green cemeteries and offers insight into design considerations
relevant to the development of green burial grounds in Canada.
In addition to the thesis, there is a Woodland Cemetery Master
Plan that explores some of the unique opportunities of natural
burial grounds. Both
are available for free download on Earth
Artist
Woodland
Cemeteries Design Thesis (in Canada)
excellent resource of dissertations, books, journals, and
websites
Forest
of Memories
government policy development on natural death/burial in Canada,
the U.S. and Mexico
Eco-Cemeteries
further information about Green Burial in Canada, United States,
Sweden and the United Kingdom
CINDEA
Canadian Integrative Network for Death
Education and Alternatives
resources on pan-death options, including
Death Midwifery
Janet's
Story
Janet
a long-time member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
was a committed activist in social justice and environmental
issues all of her life. Towards
the end of her life, she insisted that she would not die until
she could be buried in a Green Burial ground.Janet
got her wish at age 89.Because
of a fall, and then a heart attack, she died in a hospital
but with loving family and friends at her death bed.Meanwhile,
one of her sons
a carpenter by trade
build her a plain wood coffin.Her
body was stored in the hospital morgue, until he was able
to arrange to borrow a vehicle to transport her body to Royal
Oak Burial Grounds
the Woodlands.Although
a specific ceremony was not planned, friends carried her body
to the graveside, lowered her into the grave, and then filled
it in
to the music offered by those attending.Eventually,
indiginous plants will grow in her grave, as she becomes part
of a natural eco-system
as was her wish.Her
official Quaker memorial was held a few weeks later
although the regular Peace Vigil, that she had attended regularly
each week for 20 years, dedicated the first vigil after her
death to her.
Many
funeral homes/societies will tell you that transporting the
body yourself is not legal
in most provinces, this is not true (although there are forms
that must be signed to do so).They
may also tell you that even a Green Burial requires grave-liners
(a cement box, which keeps the grave from collapsing as the
body and coffin disintegrate, which would otherwise make it
hard to mow the lawn above
which is the only purpose for it)
this also is not true.True
Green Burials are only beginning to be possible in Canada
(Royal
Oak Woodlands, Victoria, B.C. and Cobourg
Cemetery, Ontario), and the U.S.A. and U.K.However,
more and more traditional cemeteries are considering assigning
a section of their land to Green Burials: and others are developing
trusts to buy land
in order to provide a Green Burial ground, while also preserving
or re-building an indigenous eco-system.
Information
on Natural Death and Burial in various Provinces
British Columbia
Royal
Oak Burial Park The
Woodlands Victoria B.C.
offers Green Burials
The
Memorial Society of B.C. is working
on a range of green burial options, as described on its website:
contact: Ellen Le Fevre, Executive Director, Memorial Society
of BC, 212-1847 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1Y6; Tel:
(604) 733 7705; Email:
elefevre@telus.net (see also
list of Canadian
Memorial Societies below).
Alberta
Hodych,
Anastasia Disturbing Ground;
A Socio-environmental Model for the Green Cemetery in Manitoba,
University of Manitoba, Department of Landscape Architecture
MLA 2004 Email:
ahodych@scatliff.mb.ca
Ontario
Coburg
Union Cemetery Eco
Burials in Ontario offers
Green Burials
Green
Burials
Yahoo group concerning the development of Green
Burials sites in Ontario and elsewhere.
Memorial
Socieities of Canada - by province
British
Columbia
B.C.
Peoples Memorial
Society of BC, Memorial Society Office,
505 Stn. Main,Vernon, B.C. V1T 9Z9 Fax: 1-(250)
558-3552 Tel:
[250] 689-0079
Lower Mainland,
[250] 823-2215 - Fraser
Valley, [800] 661-3358
- All of BC Toll Free
1-800-661-3358
Email:info@peoplesmemorialsocietybc.com
Vancouver
Island
Vancouver
Island Memorial Society (chapter
of the Peoples Memorial Society of B.C.),
#1- 1518 Pandora
Ave Victoria, B.C. V8R 1A8
Tel: (250)
388-7170 Fax: (250)
388-7134 Toll-free: (800)
661-3358 Email: memorial@ampsc.com
Vancouver
Memorial
Society of British Columbia 205
- 640 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V5Z 1G4
Phone: 604.733.7705 or
(toll free) 1.888.816.5902
Fax: 604.733.7730 or (toll free) 1.888.816.5903
or contact Executive Director Nicole Renwick at
Email:nicole@memsoc.org
Alberta
Calgary
Calgary Cooperative Memorial Society Itd.,
Suite 204A, 223
– 12th Avenue S.W.Calgary AB T2R 0G9 Tel:(403)
248-2044 or
1-800-566-9959
Email: admin@calgarymemorial.com
Edmonton
Memorial
Society of Edmonton and District,
#1108-10235 124th Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 1P9 Tel:
(780) 944-0196 Fax:
(780) 944-0791
Email:
info@memorialsocietyedmonton.ca
Red
Deer
Memorial l Society of Red Deer and District,
Suite 202 4728 50 St Red Deer , AB , T4N1X2 Tel:(403)
346-4636
Saskatchewan
Provincial
Funeral
Advisory and Memorial Society of Saskatchewan,
P.O.
Box 1846, Saskatoon, SK S7K 3S2 Tel:
(306) 374-5190 or
1-866-283-2677
(within province only)
Email: dweary@sasktel.net
Manitoba
Provincial
Funeral
Planning and Memorial Society of Manitoba,
c/o
613 St. Mary's Road, Winnipeg, MB R2M 3L8 Tel:
(204) 452-7999 Email:FPMSInfo@mts.net
Ontario
Provincial
Federation
of Ontario Memorial Socieities, Funeral
Consummers' Alliance, (list of local Memorial
Societies) 55 St. Phillips Road, Etobicoke, ON M9P 2N8
Toronto
Funeral
Advisory and Memorial Society
(formerly Toronto Memorial Society), 55 St. Phillips Road,
Etobicoke, ON M9P 2N8 Tel:
(416)
241-6274
Email: info@fams.ca
Guelph
The
Funeral Information and Memorial Society of Gueph and Area,
Box 1784, Guelph, ON N1H 7A1 Tel: (519)
836-8775
Email: memorialsociety_guelph@hotmail.com
Hamilton
Funeral
Advisory Society of Hamilton and District,
Box 89026, 991 King Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4R5 Tel:
(905) 389-8240
Email: funeralsociety@hwcn.org
Kitchener-Waterloo
Memorial
Society of Kitchener-Waterloo, 55 Northfield
St. E Suite 303 Waterloo ON N2K 3T6Tel:
(519) 579-3800
Email: info@kwmemsoc.ca
London
Memorial
Society of London, P.O. Box 1729 Stn
A, London, ON N6A 5H9 Tel: (519)
649-1014 Email
whunter@uwo.ca
Niagara
Niagara
Peninsual Funeral Advisory and Memorial Society,
133 Lea Crescent, Welland, Ontario L3C 7J7Tel:(905)
732-7114
Northern
Ontario
Memorial
Society of Northern Ontario, P.O. Box
1355 Stn B, Sudbury, ON P3E 5K4 Tel: (705)
671-3753 Toll Free: 1-866-203-5139
Email: msno@canoemail.com
Ottawa
Funeral
Information Society of Ottawa, Box 32057,
1386 Richmond Road, Ottawa, ON K2B 1A1 Tel: (613)
828-4926 Email:funeralinfosocottawa@gmail.com
Peterborough
Funeral
Advisory and Memorial Society, Peterborough and District,
Box 1795, Peterborough, ON K9J 7X6 Tel:
(705) 742-0550 Email:glenn.jones2@sympatico.ca
Thunder
Bay
Memorial
Society of Thunder Bay, 316 Talbot Street,
Thunder Bay, ON P7A 1J7 Tel:
(807) 683-3051
Windsor
Memorial
Society of Windsor and District,
Box 481, Windsor, ON N9A 6M6 Tel: (519)
969-6767 Email:memsoc2@sympatico.ca
Quebec
Montreal
Memorial Association of Montreal,
P.O. Box 812 Stn. H, Montreal, QC H3G 2M8 Tel: (514)
933-8444 Fax:
(514) 933-1999 Email:info@funeralsmontreal.org
U.S.A.
General
Funeral
Consummers' Alliance
various
information on funerals and options in the U.S.A.
D.M.O.Z.
Open Directory Project
list of Cremation and Memorial Socieites in the U.S.A.
Natural
burial in the States
list of natural and green burial sites in the
U.S. -- open or developing
Eternal
Reefs
Memorial Reefscreate new marine habitats
Ramsey
Creek Preserve
'Nature preserves providing cemetery functions, not cemeteries
working hard to be greener', and Memorial
Ecosystems 113 Retreat Street, Westminster, SC
29693, USA Tel: (864)
647 7798 Fax: 864
647 7796.
Cemetery
Group
growing listing of 'green cemeteries' in the U.S.A.
Information
on Green Burials in the various U.S.A. states
General
Home
Funeral Directory
available Home Funerals (and sometimes Green Burial options)
in the U.S.A., listed by State (more than we can provide links
for on this site).
California
Forever
Fernwood Natural Burial Grounds
new cemetery that doesn't allow embalmed corpses. Contact
301 Tennessee Valley Road Mill Valley,
CA 94941 N 37° 52.648' W 122° 31.409' VOICE
Tel: (415) 383.7100
Fax: (415)
383.7409 Email:info@foreverfernwood.com
Colorado
Crestone
End of Life Project
offering the first U.S. 'open air' cremations
Contact Post Office Box 1238
Crestone, Co. 81131 Tel:
719-588-7415 Email:
see
'contact us' page at
http://www.crestone-end-of-life.org/contact-us.html
Florida
Glendale
Memorial Nature Reserve,
297 Railroad Avenue, De Funiak Springs,
Florida, 32433, USA;Tel: 001
850 859-2141; Email:glendale2@glendalenaturepreserve.org
New York State
Green
Springs Natural Cemetery Association
"Save a forest
plant yourself"
PO Box 415, 293 Irish Hill Road, Newfield,
NY, USA 14867 Tel:607
564 7577
email at Green Springs
contact us
Texas
Ethician
Family Cemetery
and
open to people of all faiths
Map
(for location) near Oakhurst.
Texas Email: info@ethicianfamilycemetery.org
and
Dust
to Dust Cemetery
in Waterwood in San Jacinto
County, Texas
Map
(for location)
Email: ghr@cyberclone.net
Wisconsin
Circle
Cemetery
America’s First National Pagan Burial Ground Preserving
Nature & Greening the End of Life
located at Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, just north of
Barneveld, Wisconsin Tel:
(608) 924-2216 Email: circle@circlesanctuary.org
U.K.
Resources for Natural or Green burials in the U.K.
Natural
Death Centre
extensive resources for U.K., Canada and U.S A.
List
of Natural Burial Grounds in the U.K.
Bio-degradable
coffins
Go
Green
U.K.(coffins with Celtic designs)
The
Natural Burial Products
coffins catalogue (U.S.A.)
shipped directly to client in U.S.A. or Canada.
Eco-pod
U.K.
distributor for North America is the Natural
Burial Company, Oregon.
Natural
Funeral Company
Eco-Weave casket (from bamboo) and other products (available
in Canada) 71 Colin Shaw Lane, Ponsonby 1011, Auckland
Eco-coffins/caskets
pine wood (available in Canada)
A
Fine Farewell
hand-made green burial shrouds
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