The Centre for Natural Burial

Isabel Berney, Roanoke Times

Berney, of Blacksburg, is a member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge.

Joe Kennedy relates the sad state of Roanoke’s municipal cemetery, Coyner Springs, its potter’s field, in Botetourt Country in his Cuppa Joe column of July 1 (”Cemetery becomes a cause for woman”). As City Manager Darlene Burcham correctly states, “the city has more pressing priorities with its limited treasury which is already stretched thin.”

Perhaps the city should consider letting Coyner Springs return to its natural state and as a nature preserve begin practicing green burials for the indigent dead and other residents who wish for this alternative.

Green burials are becoming much more attractive as communities realize the ecological and financial benefits of such practices.

The average U.S. cemetery buries 1,000 gallons of embalming fluid, 97.5 tons of steel, 2,028 tons of concrete and 52,250 board feet of high-quality tropical hard wood in just one acre. This is in addition to the tons of pesticide, fertilizer and water it takes cemeteries to keep looking well manicured.

The well-manicured look is not apparent at Coyner Springs, but this is exactly the opportunity Roanoke should take to start burying green at Coyner Springs.

What is green burial? It means returning a body to the earth as swiftly and naturally as possible. It is an unembalmed body in a biodegradable container (soft wood, cardboard, bamboo, wicker box or a shroud). Grave liners or vaults are not necessary and, in fact, impede the process of the body’s returning to the earth — dust to dust. This is the way people have been burying the dead respectfully for thousands of years. People of all faiths practice such burials, although in this area it is most often associated with Jewish and Muslim adherents.

Using Coyner Springs for green burials would not only be more cost effective for the city of Roanoke and the Social Services Department, but it would also be good for the environment.

Think of a piece of land returning to nature as a meadow or forest. Once unembalmed bodies are buried, nature takes its course. The United Kingdom, where many such green cemeteries have existed for years, reports that there is no problem with groundwater or soil contamination. By contrast, when bodies are embalmed, the toxic chemicals used in embalming fluid degrade very slowly and are much more hazardous to people and the environment.

I have no doubt that Oakey’s Funeral Home is providing its services below cost to the city, but because Oakey’s is such a thriving business, it is no doubt making up that loss on the sale of services to its paying clients at a substantial profit. I hope Oakey’s would be as willing to provide a shroud or biodegradable container at cost, which would be even less expensive.

The grave opening and closing could also be at a much-reduced cost because green burials work best when the body is placed just 3 feet under, where the soil conditions are right for complete decomposition.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge, a nonprofit, community organization that exists to provide accurate information about the death-care industry, has more information for consumers about choices available to people in our area. This organization provides information on how to secure dignified and affordable choices.

Rather than have Roanoke be responsible for a municipal cemetery in a state of “horrendous neglect,” why not turn this area into a nature preserve, providing a green burial space that will cost the city less to operate and maintain, to provide a dignified way for bodies to return to the earth in a natural setting in a natural way.