NATURAL GREEN BURIALS

Bellingham Herald Article July 2008

A local funeral home has begun offering more environmentally friendly products.

Brad Bytnar, owner of Jerns Funeral Chapel and Crematorium in Bellingham and Jerns-McKinney Funeral Chapel in Blaine, said green options haven't been readily available in Whatcom County.

"Environmentally friendly caskets and urns are made from a variety of woven materials, including recycled paper, willow, sea grass and bamboo," said Bytnar. "These allow the deceased to be returned to earthly elements through natural decomposition."

While urns may be buried in the ground or taken out to sea, some are not comfortable with cremation, Bytnar said, because it uses non-renewable fossil fuels. It's estimated that the amount of fuel consumed by cremation each year in the United States is equivalent to a car making 84 trips to the moon and back.

An obstacle to green burials has been that traditional cemeteries require caskets to be placed in an outer burial container that protects the casket and prevents natural decomposition of the deceased. However, some green cemeteries are being established that don't require the outer burial container. Greenacres Memorial Park near Ferndale is the only known Whatcom County cemetery that accommodates green burials, according to a company press release.

"With green burials, we also can use unobtrusive grave markers like trees, native shrubs or engraved native stones that don't intrude with the natural landscape," Bytnar said. "Instead, they eventually create a beautiful living memorial and nature preserve."

For more information about green burials and environmentally friendly caskets and urns, call Jerns Funeral Chapel at 734-0070 or visit www.jernsfuneralchapel.net.

What is a green burial?

Simple and natural.  Green burial, or natural burial, ensure the burial site remains as natural as possible in all respects.  Interment of the bodies is done in a bio-degradable casket, shroud, or a favorite blanket.   No embalming fluid, no concrete vaults. 

Why have a green burial?

It is clear that nature has intended that our bodies be reunited with the earth.  All organisms that have lived, have died and returned to the soil...only to be recycled into new life.  Constant microbial activity in the soil breaks everything down.  Nature creates no waste.  Everything is recycled. 

In keeping with your personal values, a natural burial site for you, family, even pets, promotes growth of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers, in turn bringing birds and other wildlife to the area.  Water is not wasted, nor are pesticides and herbicides used in attempts to control nature.  Instead, a green cemetery allows nature take it's course. Planting native trees, shrubs and flowers in your loved one's honor promotes habitat restoration.  To encourage land preservation, a green cemetery grants a conservation easement for the burial site.

Burial vs Cremation

A green burial is a cremation alternative, and a viable alternative to  "traditional"  burial practices in the United States.  It is an earth friendly option when considering burial vs cremation.  Many families choose cremation because it's seen as more environmentally friendly than traditional burial.  Embalming, expensive sealed caskets and burial vaults are not required by law.  Though traditional memorial parks may require them, a green cemetery or memorial nature preserve does not.  The simplicity of a green burial is in tune with nature and need not be expensive.

Until recently, interment in an environmentally friendly burial ground was not an option.  Now we can consider and encourage a natural burial, helping to preserve open spaces throughout the United States.  This will increasingly become a cremation alternative.

Choosing a green burial now relieves your loved ones of the distress that comes in having to make difficult, and often costly, decisions after your passing.  Involve your friends and family now, so difficult decisions do not need to be made in a time of grief.