2016 Annual Letter

March 2, 2016
Greetings, Green Burial Supporters!

As I write, the wind is howling and the sun is shining on this beautiful winter day. I have been busy consulting with folks from all over the state, and elsewhere, about one of my favorite topics: How to have a funeral and burial that is in line with our values to protect, preserve, and strengthen the earth. Everything from mushroom burial suits that mediate toxins to backyard family cemeteries

to creation of new township burial grounds to collaboration with existing cemeteries to start offering natural burial. I'll be attending the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association Annual Conference in New Orleans in April to assist the Green Burial Council in spreading the word among those "in the industry." I continue to do presentations whenever I am asked. So many of us want to change the paradigm and it takes the support of all of you to do that, slowly but surely.

I had the privilege of helping a family that found out about green burial at the Ann Arbor Green Fair last June. Sadly, after chatting with us and taking home some literature, a family member became ill. Through facing his death, educating himself, and making his wishes known, he was able to have a home funeral and green burial that gave everyone peace of mind and comfort. This is the work we do.

Thank you to all of you who have signed our petition. Melissa Anne Rogers and I met recently; here are our plans for this year:

1. Encourage and help the Ann Arbor City Council to sponsor a resolution saying that they support green burial and that we need more green burial options locally. (Last year we met with county officials and they stated that there are NO public health concerns with green burial that would stop any cemetery from offering it in our county.
2. Produce an educational article, video, CTN television show and radio show about green burial, highlighting local families that have had one.
3. Host an Earth Day event (April 22). Currently, I'm thinking about a fundraiser concert!
4. Have a table at the Green Fair again, which is on June 10 in the evening.

Obviously, we need a good amount of help to bring these goals to fruition. Please email me if you are willing to help us by being a planner and doer. We especially need help with social media and connections.

I hope to hear from you!

Merilynne Rush

mrush@afterdeathhomecare.com

Welcome to the Ann Arbor Green Burial Network page!

Have you planned your green burial yet? Here's your "round tuit" so you have no excuse!

Step 1:

Find out local options

Step 2:

Ask for more options (drive the market)

Step 3:

Help the A2GBN create more options by contacting us and signing our petition.

The Case for Green Burial

promoting eco-friendly, noninvasive, natural burial practices

What is Green Burial?

Green burial is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat.

Why replace conventional burial practices?

The standard conventional funeral, complete with embalming and burial in a lawn cemetery, is fraught with health hazards, and requires the permanent installation of non-biodegradable vaults around non-biodegradable caskets. Embalmers have an 8 times higher risk of contracting blood diseases than the average population, while groundskeepers are more than twice as likely to develop COPD; both are exposed routinely to chemicals known to cause cancer and neurological diseases. And each year, the US buries over 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete – roughly 1 ton per vault, plus imported steel from China and exotic woods from rainforests in South America, creating a significant total of carbon emissions.

How is green burial really different?

The difference is in the non-invasive, eco-friendly methods used to care for the body prior to and during burial, not in the ways we honor our dead.  In fact, rituals are on the rise as families find the natural setting of green burials conducive to both traditional and spontaneous celebrations of life and acknowledgment of their loss.

Green burial cemeteries:

§  reduce carbon footprint and contribute to the natural eco-cycle

§  occupy lands with intrinsic ecological quality and meaningful social value

§  are managed as municipal cemeteries, land trusts, conservation lands, and  recreational preserves in perpetuity

§  allow biodegradable caskets, shrouds, urns, often made with local resources by local craftspeople

§  do not allow embalming fluids, vaults, herbicides or pesticides

§  mark locations by GPS, native memorials such as fieldstone

§  provide teaching and research opportunities

§  create recreational, cultural and spiritual gathering venues and opportunities

§  protect and restore wildlife habitat

§  integrate sustainable native plant communities

Who is the Green Burial Council?

The Green Burial Council (GBC) is an independent certification and educational nonprofit organization offering environmental certificates for funeral homes, cemeteries, and product manufacturers. The GBC’s advocacy and educational efforts support certified funeral providers, individuals and public organizations better understand the environmental, cultural and economic benefits of green funeral practices.

For more information, go to:

www.greenburialcouncil.org

888-966-3330

Please sign our petition!

 

Click here to access the full petition