A love of nature often begins in childhood—from whimsically chasing butterflies and stomping in rain puddles to making snow angels and quietly watching wild animals with bated breath. Most take to Mother Nature with wide-eyed curiosity and delight, and as life unfolds, those moments of wonder, awe and respect deepen and grow. In life, individuals can cultivate a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, caring for the environment while benefitting from the abundance of gifts nature provides.

According to the National Library of Medicine, traditional burial releases organic and heavy metals, bacteria, fungi and viruses that spread into the soil and water. Cremation, often marketed as a more environmentally friendly option, produces small particles, trace gases and toxic organic volatiles. Both burial and cremation pose environmental risks and may threaten human health. Furthermore, the Suzuki Foundation reports that modern embalming relies on a cocktail of chemicals, primarily formalin—formaldehyde mixed with water. As bodies and caskets decompose, these chemicals can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater.

The data is startling, but there are alternatives for those interested in planning a green burial.

The Green Burial Council (GBC), an international nonprofit, defines green burial as a method of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact. The process helps conserve natural resources, reduce carbon emissions, protect worker health, and restore or preserve natural habitats. The GBC provides information on where communities can access green burial options, including hybrid cemeteries, natural burial grounds and conservation burial sites. It also outlines who may handle body preparation and how it can be done—whether through shroud burials, the use of green embalming fluids made from essential oils, or hybrid funeral arrangements with a funeral director or home funerals.

Recompose, a Seattle-based green funeral home specializing in human composting, is a leader in green burial, offering services to both Washington residents as well as individuals across the United States. Its practice of returning bodies to the land sequesters carbon, improves soil health, and uses 87 percent less energy than conventional burial or cremation. Those interested in learning more about human composting can attend TERRACON, a multi-day convention in the Pacific Northwest open to funeral directors, mortuary students, legislative regulators, environmental groups and individuals interested in sustainable death care.

In Pennsylvania, several organizations support environmentally conscious funeral planning. Friends of Green Burial PA (FGBPA), a nonprofit based in Chester County, was founded by Carin Bonifacino and Elaine Brooks to advocate for and raise awareness about green burial. “We provide education that green burial is legal and available in Pennsylvania and dispel myths about it,” says Bonifacino. “We offer presentations wherever we are invited—including churches, schools, libraries, funeral homes, hospices, cemeteries, conferences and businesses. We advocate with existing cemeteries, encouraging them to set aside unused land for this practice.” FGBPA believes that green burial is the most sustainable way to care for human remains—allowing the Earth to do what she does best, recycling the body in an ecologically responsible manner.

Bonifacino co-founded FGBPA after experiencing a personal loss. “My dad died in 2001, and I then found out about green burial a few years later. It made me really sad that we had not given him a green burial because it seemed so appropriate for a man who had been an avid gardener and nature lover his whole life. My grief over that missed opportunity was the catalyst to provide education about natural burial so that people could make informed choices for themselves and others before it was too late.”

FGBPA also helps loved ones of the deceased become more involved in the burial process. Until the 1930s, most funerals were conducted at home, where families handled the body and burial. Over the past century, embalming and vaults—the cement containers placed in the ground to house caskets—became the norm, shifting body preparation away from families. Many see tasks like lowering the casket or backfilling the grave with shovels as final acts of service for the deceased, rather than leaving that work to strangers.

Kuhn Funeral Home and Simple Funerals are two organizations in the Berks and Lancaster region that offer green burial options. Laura Adamo, licensed funeral director for Kuhn Funeral Homes (see Kuhn Funeral Home’s Business Spotlight in this issue) notes, “For families in Pennsylvania, natural organic reduction [NOR, also called ‘terramation’ or ‘recomposition’] is not a local option as legislation has not passed to allow it, but 12 states have legalized NOR, and we can expect Pennsylvania will eventually join that number. In the meantime, we are building partnerships and capacity to welcome families that want this choice for themselves and their loved one. It’s not too soon to start thinking about what you would want to happen to your body when you die. It’s precisely this thought that brings together all of the people who have formed the wave of interest in sustainable deathcare. They are the reason green cemeteries and conservation burial grounds are proliferating and why new methods of disposition are being considered across the country.”

William P. Spence, a funeral director with more than 30 years of experience, began Simple Funerals in 2021 in “response to individuals that do not want to be embalmed with aldehyde-base preservatives or use an ornate casket but think their only option is cremation.” Simple Funerals offers green burial options, where bodies can be interred in a biodegradable casket made of wicker, seagrass or other biodegradable materials. Shrouding in an all-natural fabric is also an acceptable practice. “Most green burials are marked with a natural stone or other object found in nature,” he adds.

Looking toward the future of green burial in Pennsylvania, Spence observes, “The greatest challenge for green burial is the lack of suitable cemeteries. Most cemeteries require outer burial containers [vaults], use herbicides, insecticides, fertilizer, mow grass frequently, allow granite and bronze memorials, and permit artificial flowers and other ornamentation decorating the graves.” Bonifacino sees, “The demand for green burial practices is definitely growing… We have people reaching out to us on a regular basis who want to preplan their natural burial and want to learn more about it. I believe we will continue to see more cemeteries offer this as a significant way for cemeteries to retain their cremation clients. Natural burial is the future of death care in Pennsylvania.”