Green Burial Grounds

About GBC Certification

The Green Burial Council works to make natural burial in the U.S. ecologically sustainable, meaningful for individuals and economically viable for providers.

Since its launch in 2005, the GBC has developed a three-tiered certification program; set up a network of approved providers committed to reducing toxins and waste; and brought conservation groups together with cemetery operators to create burial programs that facilitate the acquisition, restoration and stewardship of green space.

Certification Levels

Low-Impact Burial Ground, formerly called a Hybrid Burial Ground, requires the adoption of burial and operational practices that are nontoxic and energy-conserving. These facilities may lie within a dedicated section of a conventional cemetery or make up an entirely separate cemetery. A Low-Impact Burial Ground achieves GBC certification by prohibiting the use of burial vaults, the burial of bodies embalmed with toxic chemicals, and burial containers made from nonbiodegradable or toxic materials. It must also reduce pesticide use by having in place a program of Integrated Pest Management.

Natural Burial Ground certification requires adherence to all the Low-Impact Burial Ground practices and protocols and be designed, operated and maintained to produce a naturalistic appearance based on use of plants and materials native to the region and patterns of landscape derived from and compatible with regional ecosystems. Such landscapes may be part of ecological restoration, but for this level of certification complete restoration is not a requirement.

Conservation Burial Ground is the highest level certified by the GBC. In addition to meeting all the requirements for a Natural Burial Ground, the facility must further legitimate land conservation. A Conservation Burial Ground must protect in perpetuity a significant area of land specifically and exclusively designated for conservation. A conservation burial ground must involve an established conservation organization that holds a conservation easement or has in place a deed restriction guaranteeing long-term stewardship.

Learn More!

For more about the green burial movement, the progress being made here in Michigan, and what consumers should know before making a purchasing decision, click to FCIS's exclusive interview with Joe Sehee, Committed to the Earth: A look at the green burial movement, found on page 4 of the FCIS 2009 Egress newsletter.

Green Cemeteries Around Michigan

Western Michigan

Ridgeview Memorial Gardens
5151 8th Avenue SW
Grandville
616/249-8439
http://ridgeviewmemorialgardens.com

Plot: $1,895, includes lot; biodegradable casket; opening, closing and restoration of site (winter surcharge applies); granite memorial stone, engraving and placement. Price is good through 2011.
GBC Certification: Low-Impact

Ridgeview

Ridgeview Memorial Gardens has several acres dedicated exclusively to green burial. This Natural Gardens section is adjacent to 10 acres of heavy cover and wildlife.

Southeast Michigan

Mount Carmel Cemetery
Ninth Street and Ford Ave.
Wyandotte
734/285-1722

Plot: $1,500
GBC Certification: None

Currently, a quarter-acre of the 12-acre cemetery is designated as a green burial area. Decedent must have “some” Catholic connection, according to Father Charles Morris, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish, which oversees the cemetery.

The Preserve at All Saints Cemetery
4401 Nelsey Road
Waterford 48329
800/989-9633
www.michigannaturalburial.com

Plot: $1,500-$4,900
Opening & Closing Fee: $350-$700
GBC Certification: None

More than 50 acres have been set aside for natural burial, of which almost 15 acres of wetlands abut Lake Maceday. The property also adjoins protected government-owned land to form a contiguous parcel of natural woodlands. Shroud-only burial allowed. Catholic affiliation is not required.

Marble Park Cemetery
520 W. Main St.
Milan
734/439-5660
www.marbleparkcemetery.com

Plot: $600.00 - $800.00
Opening & Closing Fee: $1,100
GBC Certification: None

No outer burial container required. All coffins/caskets must comprise 100% biodegradable material and be of sufficient structural integrity to allow lowering of the remains into the grave. Incidental metal allowed.

Upper Penninsula

Eagle Harbor Cemetery
Eagle Harbor Township Office
321 Centre Street
Eagle Harbor
906/289-4407

Plot: $200 for township residents, $500 for nonresidents
GBC: None

Vaultless burial arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis with the sextant, Mike Braman. Call Braman at 906/289-4726.

Northeast Ohio

Foxfield Preserve
9877 Alabama Avenue SW
Wilmont, Ohio
330/763-1331
www.foxfieldpreserve.org

Plot: $3,600 (holds two coffins)
GBC Certification: Conservation

Approximately 2.5 hours southeast of Toledo, Foxfield Preserve is the first green cemetery operated by a nonprofit conservation organization in the U.S. Each plot holds two coffins, and 50% of the fee is a tax-deductible donation to The Wilderness Center, which operates the cemetery. Michiganians wishing to bury their dead at Foxfield may drive the body by themselves across state lines. The body must be accompanied by a burial-transit permit, which is issued to a funeral director in the county where the death occurred. (Ohio law does not mandate the use of a funeral director.)