Greenfield Public Library will host “Stories of Green Burial” on Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The sponsors of the talk, Green Burial Massachusetts and Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, are working together to establish the state’s first green cemetery open to all.
Leigh Youngblood, of Mount Grace, and Carol Coan, of Green Burial Massachusetts, will lead the discussion and will be joined by other local speakers who will talk about people who have conducted green burials for members of their family or community. They will discuss the possibility of donating or selling land to help establish a natural burial ground.
“Many people have expressed an interest in being buried as simply as possible, and yet natural burial is not available for most Massachusetts residents,” explains Coan. “Increasingly, people want to forego the features of a conventional burial, including an expensive casket, cement grave liner and granite headstone. We believe that if someone wants to be buried in a plain pine box or wrapped in a shroud and placed directly into the ground, they should be given that choice.”
Mount Grace is currently assessing suitable land for a green cemetery. A property would need to have a minimum of 10 acres that are dry, have less than a 15 percent grade, and have easy access to a road.
“We see this as a way to combine land conservation with the community’s expressed desire for more natural burials,” said Jay Rasku, community conservation director at Mount Grace. “With this project, we can provide those who choose natural burials the opportunity to use their final act to protect the natural world and inspire future generations to make respectful use of it.”
The program is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to support the work of Green Burial Massachusetts and Mount Grace in the creation of Massachusetts’ first green cemetery.