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Funerals: green burial

This practice is based on the premise of returning our bodies to the earth to form a vital link in the cycle of life. Wrapped in a shroud of natural fabric, lying on a wicker burial stretcher or contained in a biodegradable casket, bodies are buried in designated 'green' cemeteries, their final resting places marked by the planting of a tree or shrub, and wildflowers. These woodland burial areas are protected and may serve as habitats for endangered species of wildlife.

In England, the trend towards 'green burial' is well established and gaining momentum, with more than 130 woodland burial grounds already in use. Those who advocate 'green burial' view death and the rituals that accompany the disposal of a body from a spiritual and environmental perspective that is utterly opposed to the prevalent practice of protecting a body within a large, durable receptacle, repelling the earth's biological properties. Embalming is not allowed, for it introduces powerful chemicals into the body, which could later leach into the soil. Nor is any kind of a coffin or vault that is designed to do anything other than break down quickly and naturally permitted.

Cremation is gently discouraged, on the grounds that the process releases pollutants into the air, although cremated ashes may be scattered in woodland cemeteries.

Green burials are in keeping with the widely held view that we human beings are part of nature, and that by returning our bodies to the earth we allow them to contribute to the great ecosystem that created us. Such 'green burials' are not easily accessible in the U.S. -- but they are practiced.