The Green Burial Alternative

There is a growing movement to establish Green Burial Grounds, the first green site opened in 1993 in Carlisle and there are now well over 200 sites across the UK.  In 2004, nine senior bishops from the Church of England met to discuss how to best promote greener graveyards.

Alternative and Eco-Friendly funerals are growing in popularity and provide the opportunity to make an informed choice based on the values and beliefs you have.

A green burial is sympathetic and respectful and provides a natural final resting place for loved ones.  To maintain the natural surroundings, gravestones are not permitted, but instead graves are marked with a commemorative native tree or wild flowers.  Woodland and meadow burial sites put something back into the environment and are home to a myriad of wildlife and fauna.   Green burial sites are in effect nature reserves and provide peace of mind for the family in that they will remain a protected natural environment in perpetuity - green burial sites are protected by covenants.   The beauty of nature is timeless, Green Burial sites can be inspirational settings and provide a true sense of creating life from death.   

"Traditional burial grounds become problems when they become full, with memorials in neglect, tombstones falling over and no money for maintenance, the City of London cemetery at Manor Park is plastered with some eight miles of roads, they become sterile and the land is never going to be used for anything else. Natural burial grounds degrade very quickly and then you're left with an area of mini-green belt with regenerated flora and fauna not cluttered up with marble or granite memorials.  Green sites - which to the untrained eye can be indistinguishable from wild meadows - blend in with the surrounding countryside enough to be handed over to wildlife trusts when all the space is filled. Then they can be used as a nature reserve or for recreational purposes".  Mike Jarvis, of the Natural Death Centre.

Not all grounds are consecrated, however some families do choose to have a priest bless individual plots.  Some sites permit all types of coffins, but encourage the use of bio-degradable coffins (cardboard, chipboard, bamboo etc) or natural fibre shrouds, others will insist on a natural coffin.   

Many families choose to arrange the whole service themselves, but funeral directors can be used as in a traditional burial.   Green burial sites welcome all creeds and cultures. Cremated remains can be strewn on green burial grounds, although generally no record is kept of the location; alternatively a space can be purchased as with a conventional burial and the remains buried in a casket. 

It is common for those who wish to have a green burial, to make the arrangements themselves, relieving the family of this distressing task.   Green Burial Sites provide a supportive service to help you make the necessary arrangements – you will be provided with a deed of ownership of your designated plot.   Family sites can be reserved on most green burial sites.

Burials on Private Land

There are legal requirements for burials on private land in the UK, but no planning permission is required, for more information on this and general support on green burials, please visit the charitable organisation The Natural Death Centre http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk

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