PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION

Your body is your last gift to the earth. Will you take action to make sure it arrives in good condition? Green burial is a way to wrap your gift so it’s most useful and attractive. This may seem like a flowery way to describe what most of us think of as a grim undertaking (pun intended), but it speaks to a reality we all should accept: when we die someone has to handle what we leave behind, whether it’s a house, car, investments, jewelry. And someone will need to dispose of your body. If you’ve gone so far as to purchase this book, you have already begun to ponder this.

I hadn’t thought much about death or its consequences when in 2012 the term “green burial” popped up during research on plastic recycling for a magazine article. I hadn’t the faintest idea what it referred to. At that time only a couple dozen cemeteries even offered natural burial in the Eastern US. When I began actively contacting cemeteries to write a book there were 42. The difficulties of tracking them down and collecting their information convinced me that an indepth guide to help others was the best contribution I could make to ensuring green burial would be around when I needed it. At publication in early 2017 of the first edition of The Natural Burial Cemetery Guide the number of eastern cemeteries had climbed to 63, with a total of 126 nationwide that made it to the guide book pages.

The 200+ cemeteries in the third edition aren’t a complete listing of natural options but they have met criteria I felt useful. Twenty-seven new cemeteries, most of them hybrid or natural, have been added. Other cemeteries offer green burial; there are many reasons why they are not included. Some are municipal cemeteries that only bury residents, or hybrids too small to want a wider base of customers. A number of cemeteries were just too difficult to contact so didn’t meet my standards for ease of locating. Occasionally a cemetery with limited space sells out its available green burial plots. There are also a number that I had to remove for this edition because they are no longer functioning, or refused to review their information for updates. Some of the new cemeteries opened with owners who got their start helping other cemeterians, and so the web of awareness spreads. On the whole the success of natural burial shows in both the eagerness of cemeteries to be included and in their rising burial figures.

Conservation burial is the crown jewel of the green burial movement, and there are relatively few. The Green Burial Council defines a conservation burial cemetery as “A type of natural cemetery that is established in partnership with a conservation organization and includes a conservation management plan that upholds best practices and provides perpetual protection of the land according to a conservation easement or deed restriction.” Other natural burial alliances are being formed, including the Conservation Burial Alliance and Global Green Burial Alliance, but the Green Burial Council (GBC) is the original, and it sets the standards.

In this guide book you will see the words “GBC Certified.” This means that the cemetery has met the standards for the level of certification listed. Not all cemeteries in the book or in the US have sought certification, but even those that haven’t, use GBC classifications as identification. The work done by CBA and GGBA to help green burial providers network is vital to the success of the movement.

Burial numbers were up to date when I contacted the cemeteries. Even though the figures change, I like to include them as they give a sense of how active a cemetery is.

Across New England countless municipalities are now offering green burial in their hybrid town cemeteries. I have listed a few that when contacted gave their information, but in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, if you don’t find one listed here, contact your town government and if there isn’t a green option, petition for one. There are usually organizations that can help.

Which brings up my final suggestion, to remember that until green burial really becomes local the definition of “close by” is fluid. I heard from one cemeterian who has difficulty reaching his target community because his address is in one state and the closest city is in another.

A word about funeral homes. Previous editions included businesses that help people to get green burial. The list keeps growing, and I decided to concentrate on cemeteries for the 2025 edition. The number of alternative funeral providers also grows. The Green Burial Council keeps a list of certified funeral homes, and the National Home Funeral Alliance has an excellent directory of alternative providers. The web will help you find www.greenburialcouncil.org and www.homefuneralalliance.org

If you get to the end of this book and decide that green burial is not for you? At the least, make a conscious choice for your final bequeathal whatever that may be. Don’t leave it up to someone else to decide for you.

Ann Hoffner, September 2025