As people look for new ways to live more environmentally friendly lives, experts say more and more people are thinking about the impact they will have on the environment after they die.
According to the funeral industry, people can ensure that the impact on the environment is as little as possible by having a green burial.
According to experts, more people have become interested in more natural burial methods in recent years.
“It’s something that has a really broad appeal, and it’s about more than just the environment. People like it because they like the idea that this final resting place is in nature. They like the idea that it’s a place that people can visit and that they’re leaving a legacy of nature,” says Susan Greer.
Greer is executive director of the Green Burial Association, which was founded in 2005 to promote green burials and raise awareness of the practice in Ontario.
The association was closed for a while but then started again in 2018 when it was noticed that awareness of the issue was beginning to grow.
The difference between green and traditional funerals.
Deepak Sharma / Global News
Since 2018, more Ontario cemeteries in Greer have also begun offering green burial options.
“If you look at our website, when we started there were maybe four or five natural cemeteries, and now there are probably three times as many. They’re all hybrids. We don’t have our own natural cemetery yet, not in Ontario.”
However, one company hopes to be the first in Ontario and one of the first in Canada to own an all-natural cemetery.
The first completely natural burial site in Ontario
Lauren Andrew and Amanda Kelly, co-founders of AWAKE.
Delivered by AWAKE
AWAKE is an Oro Medonte-based company in the early stages of opening what it calls a “living cemetery.”
“When our loved ones are laid to rest under their family tree or in their place in the reserve, they are truly coming back to life. They are nurturing new plant life and supporting the ecosystem in the reserve,” says Amanda Kelly, co-founder of AWAKE.
The idea dispenses with the traditional burial site model and is instead designed as a nature reserve with hiking trails.
“There are natural monuments here that are part of the natural environment, not man-made pieces. There are also community spaces. So part of the living cemetery is that it’s not just a place for the afterlife. It’s also a place for our lives. It’s a place to come with family. It’s a place to go for a hike. It’s a place to make new memories,” Kelly says.
At least two-thirds of the area is to be used as forest, with the remaining area to be reserved for celebrations to commemorate the life of the deceased and to provide space for new planting in case people wish to bury the ashes of their loved ones by planting a new seedling or sapling with the mortal remains of their loved ones.
The company works with a process in which the ash, which is essentially toxic to plants, is mixed with a patented soil mixture so that it promotes new plant growth.
In Canada, 86 percent of people chose cremation. Although this process is not considered the most environmentally friendly, some experts say it is the lesser evil compared to traditional burial in a concrete-lined coffin.
By transforming the ashes, Kelly says they can ensure that they can be fully returned to the earth. She says people in some areas can now also choose a less harsh form of cremation that is water-based and is called aquamation.
How much does it cost?
According to Dundas Life Insurance, the standard cost of a funeral in Ontario is between $5,000 and $20,000. On average, a burial costs between $5,000 and $10,000, while a cremation costs between $2,000 and $5,000.
In the case of AWAKE, Kelly says, the cost could be as little as $1,000 if someone wants to have their ashes scattered in a community garden, and over $10,000 if they want to purchase their own family tree.
Sarah Sunnucks is a funeral director at Smith’s Funeral Homes, which she says is the first funeral home in Canada to be recognized by the Green Burial Council.
The Green Burial Council is one of several organizations setting standards and raising awareness about green burials in North America.
Smith’s began offering people more environmentally friendly options at its four locations in 2018 as more people asked for environmentally friendly options.
“That’s when I really realized that a lot of people are starting to ask questions, and they may not have all the resources available to get all the answers they need,” Sunnucks says.
From there, she began to explore the practice of green burial and the options it offers for people planning the death of their loved ones. She also began educating others in the funeral industry about more environmentally friendly options, she says.
The home offers its patients green coffins made of wicker or wood, as well as biodegradable urns. There are also cold rooms where the bodies can be kept fresh for several days without the need for embalming.
The costs of an ecological or traditional funeral.
Deepak Sharma / Global News
Sunnucks also points out that biodegradable urns or urns made of wood cost less on average than those made of metal or marble.
While more people are planning for more environmentally friendly options, Sunnucks said families generally choose the default option when their loved ones have not expressed their end-of-life wishes.
Representation of what AWAKE’s “Living Cemetery” memorial garden will look like.
Delivered by AWAKE
Kelly and her business partner are still looking for the right location in the Oro Medonte area and investors to make the project, which could cost over $1 million, a reality.
She says they are currently looking for a suitable location and will buy it within the building in 2025. It will take between six months and one and a half years to open.
Hybrid burial sites in Ontario
Although it will be some time before Ontario sees its first fully landscaped cemetery, many existing sites have begun adding green sections.
The City of Hamilton opened its first natural burial facility in the Mountain District in September.
Cemetery manager John Perotta says there has been “quite a lot of interest” and about 180 people have signed up for a waiting list for one of three options: burial, natural cremation or scattering in the garden.
Planning for a site began in 2018 after staff became aware of the trend toward natural burials, culminating in a master plan supported by “strong community engagement” and the subsequent securing of funding from a local council.
“In the last … say six months, we’ve had about 10 or 11 scatterings and about five or six burials,” Perotta said.
“Plus, there’s a presale, so it’s pretty good.”
All burials take place in an area consisting of 250 large graves and 250 urn graves, all connected by a walking path and planted with wildflowers and native plants.
Perotta says the burial itself is a bit more expensive, nearly $100 more than a traditional funeral, but without a headstone, monument, marker, foundation or concrete encasement, the family can expect some savings.
“In my opinion, ecologically it is the biggest benefit because it benefits pollinators like birds and bees. It’s just beautiful,” he noted.
Statue from Willow’s Rest Green burial site at Fairview Cemetery.
About the City of Niagara Falls website
The verdant Willow’s Rest burial site in Niagara Falls offers a similar atmosphere with its grassy wildflower meadow surrounded by trees.
Opened in 2017 as part of Fairview Cemetery, Willow’s Rest was created in response to years of demand from families inquiring about natural burial options in the area.
After the city received grants for the development, about 600 trees and 15,000 wildflower seedlings and seeds were placed on the 8,000-square-foot site that was formerly a leaf compost site.
Cemetery manager Mark Richardson says that the use of areas considered unsuitable for conventional burials is another advantage of the “green” concept.
“In many cases, we have included areas of Fairview that would have been considered unusable at one point in time for sale or burial purposes,” Richardson explained.
In the first year of its existence, five properties were sold, in 2021 demand skyrocketed and almost 30 properties were purchased, which has been the annual average for the past three years.
Willow’s Rest is home to nearly two hundred new native trees and a monarch butterfly garden where bees are active.
Willow’s Rest Green burial plot with flowers at Fairview Cemetery.
About the City of Niagara Falls website
The space attracts students from Niagara College who tend beehives, while local school groups come to plant pollinator gardens.
Richardson, a member of the Green Burial Society of Canada and the Natural Burial Association, says he has seen “exponential” growth in the last few years alone, as he has traveled to every corner of Ontario between North Bay and the Niagara Region.
“The interest has really been driven by citizen groups,” he says. “Organizations founded by volunteers have just decided … we’ve done a lot for the environment, let’s see if we can get that message across.”
