Foxfield Preserve, photo courtesy of the Green Burial Council

Conservation Cemetery

A Conservation Cemetery in Massachusetts will be a non-profit cemetery that offers individuals and families a simple, natural, and final resting place memorialized in nature. Aligned with environmental values and practices, the green cemetery will be located on conserved land, providing a sustainable alternative to conventional burial.

In the model of conservation burial, individuals are buried simply using only biodegradable products, and memorialized naturally with markers that lie flat to the ground. Conservation cemeteries are sacred places that offer friends, family, and the wider community, a restorative place for experiencing death, loss, grief, and the healing properties of nature.

The Project is a collaborative partnership between Green Burial Massachusetts and Kestrel Land Trust.

Two Land Trust Partners

One strategy for the establishment of this cemetery is to partner with land trusts in Massachusetts.

Kestrel Land Trust

Green Burial Massachusetts connected with Kestrel Land Trust in 2017. We re-established a relationship that began in 2009 when they first asked us to submit an article in their newsletter about green burial. We’re working with Kestrel to identify land suitable for a green cemetery in their region of Western Massachusetts.

Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust

Green Burial Massachusetts has been a long-time partner with Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust in looking for land in their regions of North Central and Western Massachusetts. We’ve researched many parcels together in search of the right landing spot. In 2014, Green Burial Massachusetts, Inc. (GBM) and Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust conducted an online survey to gauge respondents’ understanding of, interest in, and desire for a green burial ground. You can read the results here.

Looking for Land

A gift or sale of the right piece of land could be hugely beneficial to both the landowner and GBM. If you think your parcel, or one you know of, might be suitable for a conservation cemetery, we’d be glad to talk to you about what you’ve got and what we’re looking for. Some combination of sale and gift may be possible.