Turn cemeteries into forests

[RainDog]

Not sure exactly where to post this... so brought it here.

http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/how-to-turn-into-a-tree-after-you-die/

We now have the option of turning cemeteries into forests, which is a little bit less traditional but is far more practical. This could be a great way to help sustain the environment, contribute to the well-being of the ecosystem, and to know that the remains of your loved ones will live on through the beautiful expression of nature.

I like this idea. For (hopefully distant) future reference.

[TygrBright]

1. I like it!

I have always said that after I move on, I'd like whatever I leave behind to give strength to the plant kingdom. I've objected to burial because of the embalming and the stupid casket requirement, so my instructions were for cremation and to find a garden where scattering my ashes could do some good.

But this is even better.

Put a sequoia seed in mine... or an aspen...

appreciatively,
Bright

[libdem4life]

2. Love the article...thanks for the new site...all 240 or so comments are worth the read. Especially

if you enjoy certain, unmentionable plant products. Hilarious.

[RainDog]

3. LOL

I hadn't read any of the comments. Some people are also thinking of revenge... oi.

the house I live in was built a while ago, and I've lived in it for more than a few years. so, one day a lady came to the door and explained she had been the first to live in the house with her family. she took me into the yard and told me who each tree had been planted for (for her kids to mark when they were born, etc.)

The beech tree is now 30ft tall and beautiful.

I like the idea of forest cemeteries. That would be fitting if someone had a need to haunt after death, too.

[enlightenment]

4. It's a good idea.

Most cemeteries don't last forever - they fill up and close and eventually are left to return to nature. Once they are no longer cared for, they are fair game for developers who want the land as long as they move the remains in a respectful way. There are actually few protections available for burial grounds unless they are active or considered important historic locations. I'd rather see them become forests and/or wildlife spaces - green zones - than to be dug up and turned into a strip mall or parking lot.

[libdem4life]

6. It seems a bit outdated to tax the family/spend $10,000 for a "decent burial". Whether one's ashes

end up as a tree or on a mantel, it gets us to dust a lot quicker and cheaper. And, at least on the mantel, we'd be portable.

My family did both. My father was buried in a Veteran's cemetery and we buried my mother's ashes in the same place. The only cost was for the cremation. We thought it was both fitting, as she would not have qualified for a lot there, there weren't any anyway because it was 35 years ago, so it was at her request.

[enlightenment]

9. My dad was "qualified" for

the full-haul ceremony at Arlington (and mom with him) but he chose to have us scatter his ashes in the Colorado mountains - the place closest to his heart. My mother asked us to scatter her "somewhere warm" because she hated the cold. She passed 6 months before dad, so we saved a bit of her to scatter with a bit of him - and vice versa. Figured they could continue arguing about the weather that way . . .

We're not terribly sentimental about these things - and both my parents were a little creeped out at the idea of being tossed in a hole or stuck in an niche.

I'd just as soon be fertilizer after the living have made use of whatever bits of me they can.

[libdem4life]

10. That's a great story..."could continue arguing about the weather". :)

[PotatoChip]

5. I'm not necessarily opposed to this idea

but I kind of like the quiet serenity of cemeteries with just an occasional old growth tree here and there... (Despite the Timber industry being my state's largest employer, we are the most heavily forested state in the nation)...

So for me, it's sort of nice to get away from the sometimes claustrophobic feel of living where there are very few open spaces.

That said, it sounds like a very good idea environmentally speaking.

[polly7]

7. I recc'ed it, but agree with you too ... I love cemeteries.

Though I can think of nowhere I'd rather have my ashes buried, or tossed or whatever they want to do with them, than in a calm place full of trees and wildlife.

[DreamGypsy]

8. Bristlecone Pine

Now the way I have lived there ain't no way to tell
When I die if I'm going to heaven or hell
So I'd just as soon serve out eternity's time
Asleep at the foot of a Bristlecone Pine

When I sing the song to myself occasionally, while walking the dogs around the farm, I make a few personal substitutions to the lyrics:

First,

When Jesus was gathering lambs to his fold...

becomes

When the Pharaohs were gilding their coffins with gold,
The tree was already a thousand years old

The reference to the Pharaohs better captures to longevity of the bristlecone; the gildded coffins reflect the absurdity of worshiping the dead.

Second:

Now the way I have lived there ain't no way to tell
When I die if I'm going to heaven or hell

becomes

From what I have learned I confirm for myself
When I die I won't be anywhere else
So when my time is done it would suit me just fine
To be placed at the foot of a bristlecone pine.

... since I am not a fan of the notion of fantasy afterplaces.

Finally, I use the word "substance" instead of "essence" to get this verse:

For as I would slowly return to the earth
What little this body of mine might be worth
Would soon start to nourish the roots of that tree
And it would partake of the substance of me

Walking among the big trees around me, the song makes me feel very much at peace.


Thanks for the post, RainDog!!

[trotsky]

11. I've told my family I want cremation...

and then dig a hole, dump the box in, and plant a tree on top. I'd really rather not even use the resources required for cremation but unless they legalize "green" cemeteries in my state that will still have to happen.

[Heddi]

15. I like the idea of having my ashes mixed with concretey-stuff

and made into an artificial reef.

I like fish...have had tanks of them for many years. I love diving and exploring natural reefs.

Seems like something that would be up my alley if I, in fact, had an alley. But I don't have an alley. Or a driveway.

[trotsky]

16. That is a great idea too.

Anything but pumped full of preservatives and sealed in a box. Ugh.

[thucythucy]

12. Cemeteries into forests is a great idea.

Unfortunately, the trend for some cemeteries is to "manage" them like golf courses: vast lawns that are trimmed by riding mowers, weed whackers, leaf blowers.... It's a travesty.

Let nature takes its course is far better.

[RainDog]

13. yeah. modern cemeteries give me the creeps

but so do golf courses.... hmmmm.

[Starboard Tack]

14. Great idea. Thanks RainDog.

I've cross posted it in Frugal And Energy Efficient Living
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11283039

[pokerfan]

17. In Dead Earnest

[AtheistCrusader]

18. Chuck me out on the ice for the polar bears.

I hear they can use the food.

Ash, fertilizer, I don't care. I won't be using it anymore. Do whatever.