Green burials now offered at Guelph, Ont. cemetery

A cemetery in Guelph, Ont. is offering a greener way to say goodbye. CTV’s Heather Senoran reports.

After years of planning, a cemetery in Guelph, Ont. has opened a green burial site for people looking for a more environmentally friendly option.

Green burials involve preparing a body for burial without the use of embalming, allowing decomposition to occur naturally.

“People are very interested in returning their body back to Earth,” Rebecca Kit, general manager of Woodlawn Memorial Park, explained. “They want to, even in their death, minimize their environmental impact, just as most of us are trying to live now.”

The green burial space at Woodlawn Memorial Park opened less than a month ago and is known as Taylor’s Meadow. It was named after the former longtime general manager Paul Taylor who was said to have had a vision for a green burial space for years. Taylor’s Meadow can be found away from the traditional burial sites on the other side of the train tracks that run through the property.

Kit said their site follows the five principles set out by the Green Burial Society of Canada.

“That means no embalming, direct earth burial, so you can be buried in just a simple shroud. There’s no use of liners or vaults. Ecological, conservation and restoration - meaning we are not going to be maintaining [the burial site] once the meadow is grown.”

Native wildflowers have been sown throughout the site. Once they are fully grown, the flowers could be chest-height.

Another principle of green burial is communal memorialization, meaning the memorials are simple and natural. A memorial at Taylor’s Meadow will display the names and dates related to the people buried there.

“Our communal memorialization is very unique. It is a boulder that came from our property about 30 years ago. It was excavated out of a foundation being dug,” Kit said.

The final principle is optimizing land use – making the most of the space.

Taylor’s Meadow features a scattering garden where people can spread cremated remains. Kit said it features uniquely engineered soil.

“This particular soil blend actually turns cremated remains back into soil, thus nourishing the plantings that are in that garden,” she said.

There are other options for people looking for environmentally friendly burial options.

Brombal Funeral Home in Guelph offers green burial caskets with the Green Burial Council’s stamp of approval on them. They can be used at any burial site, not just green ones.

“We used to ask people, ‘What shade of green are you?’” said Dean Brombal, president of Brombal Funeral Home.

Brombal said green burials and greener options for burials have gained popularity in recent years.

He said a green casket is a good first step for many people.

“They like the approach and also the esthetic nature of them. Very, very natural in in its appearance,” he said.

Woodlawn Memorial has already secured about 10 sales for green burials at Taylor’s Meadow. Those people have pre-arranged their spot.

“So that when a death occurs, they’re not being put on the spot and making these decisions while under emotional distress,” said Kit.

Kit said when they first opened there was a waitlist of about 100 people.