Graves in the Garden :
Natural Burials at Mount Auburn
By Bree D . Harvey , Vice President of Cemetery & Visitor Services
The founding of Mount Auburn in 1831 was in part a response to changes in how people thought about burial and commemoration , and Cemetery practices have continued to respond as ideas about the end of life have evolved . Even after nearly two centuries of use as a place of burial and remembrance , we are still able to offer our clients a wide range of options in choosing beautiful and innovative burial space throughout our world-renowned horticultural landscape . This April , Mount Auburn added a new option : natural or “ green ” burial graves .
Interestingly , much of the current conversation about natural burials echoes the thoughts of our founders . More than 180 years ago , they embraced the idea that “ the elements which have once moved and circulated in living frames do not become extinct or useless after death : they offer themselves as the materials from which other living frames are to be constructed .” They created Mount Auburn as “ a place to bury and commemorate the dead in surroundings of exceptional natural beauty that provide comfort and inspiration to the bereaved and the public .” More recently , Mark Harris , natural burial advocate and author of the best-selling book Grave Matters : A Journey through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial , phrased this sentiment in simpler terms :“ There is something appealing about returning to the earth as your final act on earth , and using your remains to push up a tree .”
At its core , natural burial simply means burial in a biodegradable container — a shroud , a pine box crafted with wooden dowels and rope handles , a casket fashioned out of willow , or a “ pod ” made of papier-mâché — without the use of a concrete grave liner . The recent public interest in natural burials is rooted in the modern environmental movement and has in places been used as a means of conserving forests , prairies , and other lands threatened by encroaching development . In some locations ,“ green cemeteries ” have been established as places where only natural burials are permitted . While there are groups working to establish a green cemetery here in Massachusetts , at present the closest “ green cemeteries ” are in Maine , upstate New York , and New Jersey . In response to the desire for natural burial on the part of clients in and around Massachusetts , Mount Auburn has recently been designated as a “ hybrid burial
ground ” by the Green Burial Council . We are proud to be the first cemetery in Massachusetts to receive certification by the Green Burial Council at any level .
The incorporation of natural burials into Mount Auburn has required a thoughtful approach . Rather than designating a particular corner of our 175 acres for natural graves , we have nestled them into our historic landscape , utilizing small pockets of land between historic family lots and in spots where trees have been lost to old age and decline . As with other burial options at the Cemetery , the type of memorialization that accompanies these burials varies with the location of the grave . Some natural burial graves allow for an individual marker ; some may have a shrub or tree with a memorial plaque ; still others allow for no physical monument . All graves , however , are carefully mapped and can be located now and into the future using GPS coordinates .
Providing natural burial options is much more than simply satisfying current client demand or keeping up with the most recent trends . Natural burial helps to reconnect us in a more meaningful way with the natural cycle of life while at the same time ensuring that the Cemetery can sustain its founding mission : to bury the dead and preserve this beautiful landscape for the comfort of the bereaved and the enjoyment of the living now and well into the future .
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