[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ custom_padding=”30px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.6em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” custom_padding=”||||false|true” custom_padding_tablet=”||10px||false|true” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Howard Berg (left), founder and owner of the Serenity Ridge Natural Burial Cemetery and Arboretum in Maryland<\/a>, stands with general manager Kelly Joseph (center) and community outreach liaison Chelsea Berg in a burial area called Inspiration Point. (David Harp)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding_tablet=”12px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”12px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”15px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n By Whitney Pipkin, The Bay Journal (Read the full article<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n As a recently retired surgeon, Howard Berg, MD<\/a> has always had an uneasy relationship with death. But the four-year process of opening a cemetery at the end of 2022 \u2014 Maryland\u2019s first certified natural cemetery \u2014 on land that\u2019s been in his family for decades, has made him far more comfortable with the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cYour last act on Earth is to go back to the Earth \u2014 dust to dust,\u201d Berg said. \u201cTo me, rather than impact the environment, why not improve the environment<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n Berg didn\u2019t initially decide to open Serenity Ridge Natural Burial Cemetery and Arboretum<\/strong>, located in Baltimore County, MD, for such lofty reasons. He and his two brothers were looking for the best use of former farmland with forested edges that they had inherited in an area with options limited by zoning. After visiting a natural cemetery in New Jersey, Berg came to see the approach as a way to generate revenue from the land while maintaining its natural beauty.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t conceive at the time that there would be such a pent-up demand in the state \u2014 and growing interest nationally \u2014 in the type of natural or \u201cgreen\u201d burials, the site offers. The Chesapeake Bay portion of Virginia has two cemeteries offering natural burials, one of them certified, like Serenity Ridge, by the National Green Burial Council. Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the District of Columbia also have \u201chybrid\u201d cemeteries that offer green burials on a portion of their land, and the options are expanding.<\/p>\n The Green Burial Council<\/a> defines the term as burying \u201cwithout impediment\u201d to natural decomposition \u2014 no embalming, plastic liners, concrete vaults, metal handles, or exotic wood caskets. Green burials aim to reduce the environmental impact associated with modern methods by allowing the body to naturally decompose, often in the top few feet of soil, in biodegradable containers or fabric shrouds without embalming chemicals that can leach out over time.<\/p>\n Most green burial facilities allow cremated remains to also be buried onsite, in biodegradable containers, as a way of giving families a place to visit. But, for many people, green burials are a conscious alternative to the growing practice of cremation, which the Green Burial Council says is \u201cerroneously thought by many to be greener.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.serenityridgemd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/serenity2-1.jpg” alt=”Howard Berg of Serenity Ridge Natural Burial Cemetery” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||||false|true” custom_padding_tablet=”||10px||false|true” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cYour last act on Earth,\u201d said Howard Berg, owner of the Serenity Ridge Natural Burial Cemetery in Maryland, \u201cis to go back to the earth, dust to dust.” (David Harp)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”15px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Cremation, the council says, uses fossil fuels to reach and maintain 1900 degrees for about two hours per body, releasing mercury and other pollutants into the air in the process. During a peak in pandemic deaths in 2021, residents of Arizona, where cremation rates are high, complained of foul smells and polluted air<\/a> wafting from overbooked crematoriums. In 2021, nearly 58% of bodies in the United States were cremated, a number projected to reach 64% by 2025, according to the Cremation Association of North America<\/a>.<\/p>\n Increasingly, facilities offering alternatives to cremation and traditional burials are focused not simply on reducing impacts; they want to transform burials into a benefit for their surroundings. They see caring for the dead in congruence, not in conflict, with conservation.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just on the fringe. The Nature Conservancy was recently involved in creating Tennessee\u2019s first \u201cnature preserve for natural burial<\/a>,\u201d offering burials on conserved land next to a state natural area. As of March of 2022, there were 350 green burial cemeteries in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Green Burial Council, and more have been added in the Chesapeake Bay area since then.<\/p>\n In the National Funeral Director\u2019s Association\u2019s 2022 consumer report, more than 60% of survey respondents said they would be interested in investigating green funeral options, up from nearly 57% in 2021. While only about 5% of today\u2019s burials are green, the association considers them a fast-growing segment of the funeral business.<\/p>\n The top reasons survey participants said they would consider a green burial are its lower cost and potential environmental advantages. But there are a host of others.<\/p>\n Jewish, Muslim and Orthodox Christian traditions have practiced forms of green burial for generations, eschewing cremation and embalming to promote natural decomposition. Facilities opening now say they are getting inquiries not just from those who would normally be considering end-of-life decisions, but also from younger people interested in doing things differently.<\/p>\n Jennifer Downs, a founding board member of the Green Burial Association of Maryland<\/a>, a nonprofit focused on educating the public on green burial, sees her generation fueling much of the natural burial interest.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of us Baby Boomers out here,\u201d said Downs, who helped start the group in 2015. \u201cWe were around for natural food, natural birth \u2026 and now we\u2019re getting to the end of our lives and saying, \u2018What do we do with our bodies when we die?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Palmer, who recently became president of the Maryland association, agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spent almost all my life working with environmental organizations,\u201d he said, making it unpalatable \u201cfor me, when I die, to dispose of my body in a way that creates pollution and energy consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.serenityridgemd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/serenity3-1.jpg” alt=”Green Burial Council of Maryland” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||||false|true” custom_padding_tablet=”||10px||false|true” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Members of the Green Burial Council of Maryland hear remarks by Serenity Ridge owner Howard Berg during a gathering at the site in October 2022, shortly before the cemetery opened. (Green Burial Council of Maryland)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”15px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Glenn Jennelle had been in the funeral and cemetery business for years when, about a decade ago, customers started asking new questions. Why do we need to have embalming? Why a casket or vault?<\/p>\n At the time, Jennelle helped run Kyger Funeral Homes & Crematory, which opened in Harrisonburg, VA, in 1975 and started the first crematory in the Shenandoah Valley in 1979. The business has seen cremation rates in Virginia soar from 1% when it opened to more than 50% today.<\/p>\n Now, the business is banking on a different future for burials. In 2012, the Kyger family purchased 113 acres of former dairy farmland near Penn Laird, VA. After a couple of years of research, Duck Run Natural Cemetery<\/a> opened as the state\u2019s first location devoted to green burials and certified by the Green Burial Council.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think of it as a 150-year project,\u201d said Jennelle, Duck Run\u2019s general manager. \u201cWe\u2019re doing a total land restoration. A lot of people start at the beginning, but we jumped to the end and said, \u2018What do we want it to look like then?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.serenityridgemd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/serenity4.jpg” alt=”Duck Run Natural Cemetery” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||||false|true” custom_padding_tablet=”||10px||false|true” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Duck Run Natural Cemetery in Penn Laird, VA, is the only natural burial cemetery in the state certified by the national Green Burial Council. The landscape features flat stones instead of upright gravestones to preserve the views. (Glenn Jennelle\/Duck Run)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”15px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n To that end, the cemetery works with horticulturalists to replace nonnative trees and flowers with native species. A covered shelter for ceremonies overlooks a duck pond, meadows and mown areas with burial plots scattered along the paths. An 8-acre field is set aside for monarch butterfly habitat. All of the landscape planning is done in conjunction with burials.<\/p>\n Serenity Ridge in Maryland is in the early stages of a similar approach. At both places, families can plant trees near graves only after the burial plots of that section have been filled. This prevents tree roots from being cut by future burials. Some areas of both sites are maintained as open meadows while others are forested. Customers have options to bury loved ones in a variety of settings.<\/p>\n At Cool Spring Natural Cemetery<\/a>, a green burial ground on 1,200 acres maintained by monks at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, VA, plots vary in price based on their proximity to beautiful views or drivable walkways. Burials near the outdoor chapel, which can be easily reached by car, are higher priced than those a good walk away in the woodlands, where there is more space available. But, with costs between $2,000 and $4,000, green burials still tend to fall below<\/a> conventional options.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people are willing to pay extra, because they know they can pull up and visit the gravesite often,\u201d said Vern Conaway, the cemetery manager. \u201cWe get people of all faiths and no faith. At our place, they just fall in love with the beauty of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The monastery added the cemetery business in 2012 \u201cbecause other monasteries in their order in Georgia were doing it, and they found it was filling a need,\u201d Conaway said. \u201cPeople were interested in being buried on sacred ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Cool Spring uses green burial practices but has not sought any certifications.<\/p>\n All three of these green burial sites mark graves with natural stones that lay flat on the ground instead of upright headstones to maintain a natural landscape. The stones can be engraved with names and dates. Burial locations are tracked with GPS coordinates should the stones fade in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stones lay flat on the ground, so you don\u2019t look out at the fields and see them,\u201d Jennelle said of Duck Run, describing the unobstructed view that is similar at the other two locations. \u201cOur hope is to have it look like an arboretum.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.serenityridgemd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/serenity5.jpg” alt=”Stake marking natural burial plot” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||||false|true” custom_padding_tablet=”||10px||false|true” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Wooden stakes mark purchased plots at Serenity Ridge, the first entirely \u201cgreen\u201d burial cemetery in Maryland to be certified by the national Green Burial Council. (David Harp)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”15px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”25px” header_2_font_size_phone=”22px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Thin wooden stakes at each site mark plots that have been purchased but not yet used. One section of the cemetery at Duck Run offers something few other locations in the country do so far: reusable plots. Jennelle said green cemeteries in Europe reuse the plots every 50 years, but these will go for 75.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 75 years, we\u2019ll take the headstone up and place it in the grass walkway, like a cobblestone,\u201d he said. \u201cMy thinking is maybe a grandchild would want to take that space and it could be a family plot for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all of the cemeteries\u2019 acres are open for burial at once. Opening sections one at a time allows the cemeteries to cut costs, since states require significant \u201cperpetual care\u201d trust fund deposits based on the number of acres receiving burials. Operators emphasized that, despite ongoing interest, opening a green burial cemetery isn\u2019t as easy as it sounds.<\/p>\nDifferent approaches<\/h2>\n
In the weeds<\/h2>\n