Smells Like Green Spirit

My Trip to the National Museum of Funeral History

I just got back from visiting my family in Houston. I dragged my mom along to all the kitschy things to do down there like the Orange Show (a folk art theme park dedicated to the orange which a former postal worker spent many years building from found materials), the Art Car Museum (Houston is reknown for its annual art car parade), and all the art museums.

Unfortunately we ran out of time for the Beer Can House (the house built entirely of beer cans), but we did make it to the National Museum of Funeral History, which was eerie but interesting. The museum housed examples of hearses through the ages, “fantasy coffins” which look like big wooden folk art sculptures shaped like huge crabs or turnips, a see through glass “Snow White” coffin, relics from celebrity funerals, and relics and photos of mourning through the ages. I definitely recommend stopping by the museum if you’re ever in Houston.

It got me thinking about graveyards and tombs. I understand the importance of having a place to visit, to honor your loved one who’s passed away, but it also seems like such a waste of land and space. I am not knocking cemetaries, I think they are beautiful, historic, and interesting, an important part in the mourning process, and spiritually important, but thinking about funerals and graveyards got me wondering about green funerals. Is there a way to accomplish the same things in a way to be environmentally friendly? Does that even exist?

Turns out they do exist!

So, what the heck is a green burial?

“Green Burial is a statement of personal values; it is a sustainable and spiritually fulfilling solution for people seeking to leave a legacy of care and respect for our planet,” says the Forest of Memories Website

They promote the use of biodegradable caskets, the avoidance chemical embalming, and encourage the planting of native trees and wildlife over the burial site instead of a more traditional gravestone, for the formation of a nature preserve in addition to a graveyard.

Where are Green Burial Sites Located?

In the Midwest, unfortunately there aren’t any green burial sites in existance yet…an organization called the Trust for Natural Legacies is looking for land that would be suitable for use. This is their website for more information

They list locations of conservation cemetaries, as they call them, in New York, Florida, Texas, California, and South Carolina.

Visit this page for locations in the US and Canada.

For More Information

* Here’s a link to an interesting article about the early years of the green cemetary in South Carolina From the AARP Website

* What about being buried in an elegant shroud? Visit Kinkaraco’s site

* Here’s a BBC Article about being buried in your backyard?

* This page on funerals.org discusses other matters, including organ and body donation, cremation, and suggestions for donations to be made to worthy or environmental charities after your passing.

* Here is a link to the Mother Earth News Forum if you have any issues you wanted to discuss with others…without freaking your friends out.

Any other thoughts? Resources? Leave a comment!

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