Green burials do away with chemicals and just might suit the eco-minded

GUELPH – Woodlawn Memorial Park in Guelph will soon be celebrating the grand opening of a new section of the cemetery, where burials are delivered in a new way – which is, in fact, a very old way.

Taylor’s Meadow, named after longtime general manager Paul Taylor, now retired, will offer green burials for those who wish to be buried in a way that doesn’t use embalming chemicals and is better for the environment all around.

“It’s really just going back to (how burials were done) centuries ago,” general manager Rebecca Kit explained. “Bodies are wrapped in cloth and placed in a grave without a vault or embalming.

“Typically, they’d be buried on their property and the area left to naturalize. That’s similar to what we do here.”

Kit said with Woodlawn’s green burials, bodies are wrapped in a shroud or placed on a biodegradable casket and buried in Taylor’s Meadow, which is an ecological restoration portion of the cemetery.

Caskets, if used, have no metal, toxic glues or resins.

There are no individual gravesites or headstones. Names of those buried here are engraved on a large rock. A native wildflower mix was planted in October and over time, it will become a meadow.

“It’s also the way the area is maintained,” Kit said, adding minimal gas-powered equipment is used, graves settle naturally, soil dug to form the hole is used to refill the hole and materials are sourced as close to the site as possible.

They use excavators to open the graves, but hand shovel the earth after a service. 

“We close the graves by hand. Families can take part in that if they wish,” said Kit.

It was Taylor’s vision to offer green burials and Kit said it’s a project many years in the making.

She took it over when Taylor retired and thought it fitting to name the area in Taylor’s honour.

Construction began in the fall so nothing will be very mature this year. But trees and the meadow were planted and there’s a winding walking trail that meanders through it.

“Folks who choose this are generally eco-conscious in their lives, and in death,” said Kit.

They also use a scientifically modified soil called Awake that converts cremated remains into soil. Those who wish to scatter the remains of loved ones who have been cremated, can do so in Taylor’s Meadow as well.

Because staff are doing things manually in this part of the park, Kit expects invasive weeds will get a foothold. To manage this, they will hire a team of goats to eat the weeds and maintain the site without chemicals.

To offer the service, Woodlawn Memorial Park sent an application to the Green Burial Society of Canada and follows its information and principles.

Just last week Woodlawn officials learned they were certified, which is a “huge win,” Kit said. “It’s a big deal in our profession.”

Green burials are gaining in popularity, Kit said, but they’re still not widely available.

Back on Taylor’s watch, Woodlawn started a waiting list of folks who expressed an interest in green burials and there are more than 100 names on the list.

They have all been notified that the service is now available.

Two burials have already been performed, and 30 pre-sales have been made, Kit said, noting clients from Toronto, Waterloo, Fergus and London have expressed interest.

Woodlawn Memorial Park opened in 1854, “and was in the middle of nowhere back then,” Kit said. “The city has crept up around us.”

But still, the 80-acre facility seems far removed from the traffic and bustle outside its gates. It’s connected to the Trans-Canada Trail, which is unique.

“A lot of walkers come here and we love that,” Kit said. “It’s nice that people feel comfortable here.”

For more information visit woodlawnmemorialpark.ca.