Natural burials
A better life and a better death
Corona 19 lockdowns has given many people time to reflect on their life, it has made me reflect on how we treat death and the precious life that was. Researching traditional burials and cremation practises, I learnt the toxic effect on the earth, the air and water table has a heavy impact on the planet.
This is not respecting the life many have chosen to live, to be close to nature nor how many want their bodies treated or their family members to visit a crematorium.
We can value the life of a loved one that has past, by placing the body to rest in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled in a wonderful native environment that protects and creates corridors and buffer zones to expand and protect the Wet Tropics edges.
Natural or Green burials is a loving wrapping of the body in a natural fibre, cotton, silk, hemp, bamboo and burying the body into the earth within the soil microorganism biosphere in a natural setting in a wildlife habitat. There is no head stone, instead a GPS location marker is placed with the body, some choose to plant a native indigenous plant. There is no heavy footprint of man within the living cemetery, only the creation or protection of a natural environment.
I met Diane Hart in a café in Mullumbimby four years ago and our conversation quickly turned to how we could do better than the current options of cremation or cemetery burial and to reduce our ecological footprint rather than adding to it.
The first Natural Burial Ground to be created in Australia in 2008 was by Lismore City Council. This campaign was led by Permaculture Teacher Diane Hart
– and to be buried with our tribe, on this land, in this place that we have all come to love.”
Natural Burial Facts Sheet- Diane Hart, January 21, 2020
A natural burial site is a tranquil place to go for a gentle stroll, for art or mediation and experience the quiet of nature with time to reflect and enjoy peaceful memories, it creates a safe place for grief, away from the noise and rush of normal life. A beautifully artistic entrance would be erected with your loved ones name and details including the GPS location of where they are buried focusing on keeping the area looking wild and natural and no sign of humans.
We are looking for people who like the idea of Natural Burials and creating wildlife habitats across the Wet Tropics Bioregion, to contact us and together we can make this dream a reality.