While Mount Auburn cannot point to one Maintenance and Operations Manual as listed in standard number 6 , the table of contents of the GBC template identifies topics for which Mount Auburn does have a written policy or procedure :
1 . |
Use and Purpose of Maintenance & Operations Manual |
2 . |
Customer Relations |
3 . |
Burial Containers |
4 . |
Excavation and Burial Techniques |
5 . |
Memorial Stones |
6 . |
Maintenance |
7 . |
Visitation |
8 . |
Burial Sites |
9 . |
Long-term Maintenance |
10 . |
Property |
The GBC expects the rules and regulations of a cemetery to explicitly allow green burial . Mount Auburn ’ s rules and regulations , as they exist today in what is known as the ‘ Green ’ book were last revised in 1961 . A portion ( under the heading Rules and Regulations for Single Graves , Companion Graves and Urn Graves ) were revised December of 1998 . There have been no other substantial revisions , but some minor governance revisions have been adopted over the years . Today , they still dictate the use of grave liners or vaults . The deeds , however , for natural burial spaces specify an ‘ uncontained ’ burial . Mount Auburn supplied a sample copy of a deed to the GBC as proof of adherence to green burial standard number four ( 4 ).
By eliminating the use of grave liners , other benefits are identified . Jim Holman , director of cemetery development says the installation of grave liners :
• Cause disruption by having to carry large concrete boxes / or vaults to the grave in locations where access is limited by built structures and trees ,
• Require excavation of a larger footprint that may result in more damage to existing tree roots ,
• And the grave liners themselves , are barriers to tree roots .
Natural burial allows for less disruption from heavy equipment and smaller excavations . Is there anything inherently wrong with concrete ? No . It is a great product . There is just no need to be buried in it . Concrete comprises materials that come from the earth – limestone and clay – and that requires carbon-intensive processes for extracting minerals , processing them with heating , cooling and pulverizing , and then shipping . While the concrete industry is aware of these carbonintensive processes and is making improvements , natural burial is simply about placing a biodegradable object ( the human body ) into a biodegradable container ( a plain pine box , for example ) and covering both with soil . In its purest form , there is no need for a marker . Over half of Mount Auburn ’ s natural burial spaces are sold without marker provisions . Occasionally , some family members need the physical marker – that touchstone - to honor their parent or brother or husband . The size , type , color , and texture of the actual marker is debated by the team responsible for the development of new burial space guided by the director of cemetery development . And what is wrong the markers ? They require concrete foundations !
Requirements for concrete grave liners were added to the Mount Auburn ’ s Rules and Regulations circa 1940 according to a review of Trustee meeting minutes . Grave liners were
Mount Auburn Cemetery | Climate Action & Sustainability Plan 59