What is Natural Burial?
Natural burial provides an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional interment processes.
The process of natural burial involves the preparation of the body without the use of embalming fluid or chemical preservatives.
The body is dressed in biodegradable clothing and laid to rest in a biodegradable coffin or a shroud, allowing the body to return to the earth naturally.
The grave is dug to a depth of 3 feet, rather than the traditional 6 feet.
At this shallower depth, the combination of the body, the earth and its myriad of bugs and bacteria lead to a much faster and natural decomposition.
To further help create and preserve the environment, traditional headstones are replaced by native plantings at or near the site of the grave.
Unfortunately, Queensland and Australia as a whole are sorely lacking in Natural Burial Grounds. Gold Coast Cemeteries offers a natural burial area within Alberton Cemetery. As the website states, “Developed and managed using Australian native planting, this area has been designed to be a diverse and self-sustaining ecosystem flush with birds and other wildlife. Each grave is recorded with GPS locations to allow current and future generations to locate the final resting place of their loved ones.While there is no physical identification at the grave, families can choose to have a bronze plaque on the communal memorial tree at the entrance to the burial area.”
I visited Alberton Cemetery to check out the Natural Burial site. It was like nothing I’d experienced before. The graves were easily identifiable by the mounds of dirt. It was peaceful and shady, the grass was long-instead of being immaculately & overly manicured. (Photos below)
For more information on Natural Burial Grounds go to GATHERED HERE
HIRO BOGA
When I die, I want to be this
gently mouldering log, nursing green and growing life.
Small trees spring from my body--
shy, exuberant, leaping towards sunshine.
This must be how the Earth feels
about people, grasses, lichens, moss--
all those emerald lives rooted
in her belly.
Until that day, that final fall
I'll practice being the Earth.”
Yes, to this! I’d like to be buried in a shroud in a natural burial ground so my body can easily return to the earth...
