The Natural Earth
Burial Society
___________________________________ To facilitate the establishment of a network of genuine, dedicated natural burial grounds across Australia To encourage change and innovation within the funeral and associated industries toward greener, natural and sustainable practices To encourage higher environmental standards and codes of practice within the funeral and associated industries To realize gradual phasing out of cremation in favour of natural burial or another non-polluting, eco-friendly processes. Seek from Government the provision of suitable public land for the establishment of Natural Burial Grounds Encourage holders of appropriate private land to consider setting aside areas for dedicated Natural Burial Grounds, and through it's sister organisation, the Australian Natural Burial Ground Authority, assist landholders with planning and development Liaise with government departments and networks, conservation groups, community organisations and other interested stakeholders Call upon Federal and State Governments to consider a planned phasing out of cremation in Australia. A call based upon recent research confirming it as a significant polluter and unnecessary consumer of fossil fuels. Click here to go to our Action page for more details and a progress update. A Revegetation site - reclaimed land that has been cleared (typically denuded farmland) and is in need of restoration and revegetation. In the long term this type of site provides the greatest range of opportunities of development, community involvement and ultimately yields the greatest social and environmental benefits. A Conservation site - land that has some existing vegetation, but also open cleared space suitable for burial and is in need of conservation and supplementary revegetation. A natural burial ground established on a Conservation site ensures its perpetual preservation, but makes a lesser contribution environmentally. Burial grounds established on either of these types of sites are considered by the Society as 'dedicated' natural burial grounds. Hybrid Cemeteries - faced with mounting public pressure to provide natural burial grounds, Local Government and Cemetery Authorities here and overseas have chosen to set aside small areas within existing cemeteries, labelling them as 'natural burial grounds'. In reality, these are often no more than an alternative landscaping choice within a traditional cemetery environment. Whilst these will meet the requirements of some, there is ample evidence from overseas and locally that this type of facilities have a limited appeal due to the fact that they are subject to traditional cemetery management policy and administration, can be expensive and may be of limited environmental value. We are likely to see more hybrids established, as Councils see this as easier than setting aside dedicated grounds. Whilst the Society does not necessarily oppose hybrids, which provide, at a minimum an improved landscape compared to traditional monument style sections, we do strongly oppose hybrid sites being labeled as 'natural burial grounds' without suitable qualification. This practice is misleading to the public and will contribute to confusion amongst consumers, a factor which has contributed to the relatively slow growth of natural burial in the UK. The funeral service may be conducted within the grounds, followed by burial in a perpetual site costing less than currently charged for 50 year lease sites in suburban cemeteries. It is a sad fact that the full potential of natural burial may now never be achieved in the UK because the die has been cast, so to speak. Burial ground operators naïvely assumed funeral directors would promote the idea to families in need, and they have not done so. Some people here, (particularly people in the funeral and cemetery/crematorium industry), are already pointing to the low uptake in the UK and saying, 'well, natural burial is another option but as you can see, not many people really want it'. Of course this is simply not true! Obviously it would be far simpler to just have a medium depth natural burial on revegetated land!
WELCOME
The Natural Earth Burial Society is a non-profit, community based group formed to call upon Governments to provide land, and assist industry participants to establish genuine, dedicated Natural Burial Grounds and products for the people of Australia.
The Society is the national Peak Body for the emerging 'green' funeral industry and is working to ensure that the natural burial process is effectively and professionally introduced across Australia.
I trust the information contained on this site will inspire you to share our vision and that you will choose to become an Associate.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Vanda Rounsefell
President
ABOUT US:
Our Vision
To see the majority of Australian's embrace a more natural, eco-sensitive approach to death, funerals and memorialisation.
Our Aims
Our Activities
Frequently Asked Questions (& odd myths)
What is Natural Earth Burial?
What is (and is not) a Natural Burial Ground?
What would be different about a genuine Natural Earth Burial Ground?
Will the Government listen to calls for Natural Burial Grounds?
What's happened with Natural Burial in the UK?
What does the research tell us?
Isn't it better to be cremated in order to save land?
Why don't we bury people (vertically) standing up?
What is Natural Earth Burial?
A Natural Earth Burial is defined as a burial where the body is returned to the earth using minimal possible resources, and in such a way as to encourage (or at least not interefere with) natural decomposition.
Ideally such a burial would be carried out in a dedicated Natural Burial Ground where, once decomposed, the organic energy of the body would make a tangible contribution to the renewal of the site and the vegetation planted there.
Put more simply, return the body to the earth and allow it to continue being part of the living landscape.
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What is (and is not) a Natural Burial Ground?
A genuine dedicated Natural Burial Ground is a specific parcel of land set aside exclusively for eco-style burials. A benefit of well planned natural burial grounds over traditional cemeteries, is that the natural setting remains suitable for use as open public space.
There are two main types of sites suitable for natural burial grounds.
See What's happened with Natural Burial in the UK? for more detail.
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What would be different about a genuine Natural Earth Burial Ground?
Just about everything! We invite you to share the vision of a ‘Forest of Souls’; a permanent, natural memorial ground developed by the gradual re-vegetation of suitable land. Lower storey re-vegetation will take place progressively as burials are conducted, and then as greater areas are occupied, the establishment of upper storey vegetation (permanent trees) will be undertaken to ultimately re-create a diverse, locally-appropriate eco-system. The natural burial ground will be a lasting gift from the dead to the living, a permanent memorial as well as a natural preserve contributing to the environmental health of our planet.
Grave locations are identified using ground level survey markers, and there are no traditional headstones to mar the natural beauty of the grounds. Instead the desire to memorialise is addressed with tastefully designed, low maintenance memorial alcoves in near proximity. The site of every interment is recorded using GPS and/or passive RF technology so visitiors can easily locate a particular grave.
An Image of the past A Vision of the Future
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Will the Government listen to calls for Natural Burial Gounds?
Back in the late 1800's the Cremation Society of Adelaide made history when it successfully lobbied the Government, and Australia’s first crematorium was built on West Terrace. Of course, had environmental impact been a consideration back then, they would not have succeeded, given that the cremation process consumes fossil fuels and contributes more than 10.4 million kilograms of CO2 to the atmosphere annually (as well as a host of toxic pollutants).
When it was first suggested, cremation faced considerable public opposition, seen then as a violent and unnecessary practice. It also required the development and passing of legislation as well as the construction of a crematorium. By comparison there is no opposition to natural earth burial, all the necessary legislation is in place and the establishment of a cemetery is a relatively low cost, simple process. So the answer is yes, we believe in these environmentally enlightened times that our Governments will listen and respond favourably.
The Society commenced its work in South Australia in March 2008 by seeking the dedication of the care and control of a parcel of crown land south of the city for the first cemetery. Click here for the latest details.
Just as the Cremation Society succeeded, so too will the Natural Earth Burial Society, and you can help make it happen by becoming an Associate of this history making movement. Click here to join up on line - it's free!
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What's happened with Natural Burial in the UK?
The short answer to this question is that the movement is growing, but that its growth is very slow. There are a number of reasons for this and important lessons to be learned to ensure that we don't make the same mistakes here in Australia.
Here's some background information to explain exactly what we mean. A couple of years ago, a non-profit group that founded a natural burial ground in Wellington (New Zealand) commissioned a survey to determine how many people would be interested in a natural burial. The results indicated that between 30% and 40% of respondents would be interested; an incredibly high proportion. They questioned about 800 people, so the survey results can be considered statistically significant. However the positive response was so high, that they ran the survey a second time to be sure, the result being almost identical.
Of course the ability for the average person to choose a natural burial is reliant upon there being a natural burial ground in their area, so you might reasonably assume that in a place where there are many burial grounds, natural burial would be commonplace. In the UK the first natural burial ground was established in 1993. Since that time about 160 more have come into operation, with another 30 or 40 being developed right now. Given all this activity, you would be forgiven for assuming that huge numbers of people are using these facilities, but this is not so. The reality is, that the uptake remains relatively low at only about 3% of all funerals. So what's the problem, why aren't the other (approximately) 30% of people having natural burials?
Extensive consultation with burial ground operators in the UK suggests that the primary reason is lack of support by the funeral industry as a whole. The funeral industry is conservative and resistant to change. Quite simply there are hardly any (if any at all) mainstream funeral directors who have bothered to take the time to develop ways to professionally present natural burials. A few have now begun to offer some form of natural burial service alongside their traditional services, but none specialise in natural burial. Shroud burials are just about unheard of and no one actively promotes the idea.
When a death occurs, generally the first call is to the funeral director, and because people find themselves in unfamiliar territory, they rely heavily on the funeral director’s advice and guidance. This is an emotionally charged time, and one where all the important decisions need to be made within a matter of days. When organising a funeral, there is an unspoken requirement that everything be absolutely right because of the simple fact that it can only ever happen once. So if the subject of a natural burial is raised by an interested relative, unless the idea is immediately and wholeheartedly supported by the funeral director, or unless the deceased's wishes are already clearly stated, doubts and fears creep in, and in most cases families are easily swayed (often deliberately by the funeral director) back to the 'tried and proven' (easy and profitable) traditional funeral.
Our Society is determined to see that natural burial is solidly established in Australia, and that the mistakes made in the UK are not repeated here. There are two main lessons to be learned from the UK experience and they are:
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What does the research tell us?
In 2007, international consulting firm GHD was commissioned to undertake a study comparing the environmental impact of cremation and burial. The study confirmed the obvious fact that cremation is a significant polluter (contributing an average of 160kg of CO2 to the atmosphere per case), but also reported the less obvious fact that traditional burial grounds requiring high levels of on-going maintenance (and irrigation) do, in the longer term contribute even more CO2 than cremation. For clarity, it is not burial itself which is the problem, but rather the high, on-going maintenance requirements of traditional cemeteries.
In contrast, a Natural Earth Burial carried out within the confines of a low maintenance, Natural Earth Burial Ground, will likely contribute less than 30kg of CO2; a small carbon debt that is quickly offset and repaid with interest by the permanent, low maintenance re-vegetation.
So the jury is in; compared to natural earth burial, both cremation and traditional burial are found to be environmentally irresponsible. It is one thing to consume to support human life, but in these enlightened times, to treat our dead in such a way that they continue to consume post mortem is absurd.
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Isn't it better to be cremated in order to save land?
This is a classic myth that comes up time and again. There are some countries where land space for burial is a real issue (Japan, Malta, some Greek Islands). But here in Australia there is an abundance of land on the fringes of our cities which are already (or should be) earmarked for re-vegetation and conservation. These spaces could and should be used for natural burials. The idea that we should use fuel and create pollution incinerating human bodies (which are not readily combustible) to save space, is nonsense.
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Why don't we bury people standing up (vertically)?
Another topic that comes up often. The idea was first suggested to enable more burials in crowded metropolitan cemeteries. There are three problems with vertical burial
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