By Candace Currie
“ We call our cemeteries parks and lawns and fields and greens . Yet the American graveyard hardly qualifies as a natural environment . For all their landscaping aboveground , our cemeteries function less as verdant resting grounds of the dead than as landfills for the materials that infuse and encase them .”
Mark Harris , author of Grave Matters – A Journey through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial .
It is hard to keep materials out of landfills ( or a cemetery ) when so many things that are purchased are shrink-wrapped in plastic or shipped inside a recyclable cardboard box , only to be tainted by the desired object being held by Styrofoam on the inside . Many products may arrive safely , but not always in a sustainable fashion .
This narrative will focus on materials and items used by and for Mount Auburn ’ s staff and guests by way of two construction projects and three stories about responsible use of paper products , potable water , and electronics recycling . And whenever possible , Mount Auburn shares successes with staff from other institutions and the community-at-large .
The two building construction projects that are being highlighted here are the new front entryway on Story Chapel and phase I of the Horticulture Center , the Greenhouse , that was designed to achieve LEED platinum certification .
Story Chapel , a historic 19th-century structure built in 1898 , is the setting for lectures , concerts , and special events open to the public , as well as private commemorative services . The noted architect Willard T . Sears ’ original 1896- 1898 design of Story Chapel included an elaborate entrance “… through a large door , protected by a porte-cochere , which extends well over the driveway leading to the building from the main entrance to the cemetery .” ( Cambridge Chronicle , 1898 ) Due to structural weakness and its inability to accommodate large hearses and most automobiles , the porte-cochere was removed on July 22 , 1971 .
Figure 1 - Story Chapel ' s new front entrance is now more welcoming and accessible . The new entryway was rebuilt with beams purchased from a salvage lumber yard in Connecticut .
Mount Auburn Cemetery | Climate Action & Sustainability Plan 69