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GREEN BURIAL IS A CONTINUUM

Regarding disposition methods, if we hope to encourage decomposition and offer our material bodies as a gift back to the earth,
then burying a shrouded and un-embalmed body in a shallow grave with no concrete vault or headstone with cement footings is the most effective
way to achieve this aim.  However, green burial is a continuum that must go hand in hand with our beliefs, our means and also what is possible
in our local jurisdictions.  There are many ways to make our deaths less harmful to the earth such as saying ‘no’ to embalming or using
a softwood casket with no metal screws or toxic glues.  Unfortunately, in the highly competitive death industry many have succumbed
to “greenwashing” or offering ‘green packages’ that may be only slightly less hazardous than conventional burial.
Currently there are no green/natural burial cemeteries in Québec.

 However there is one cemetery in Prévost that will inter cremains (ashes) without an urn or using the bio-urn
which includes a seed of a native tree-species so a tree can grow where the ashes are buried.

Community Deathcare Québec encourages everyone to reach out to your local communities to become informed of the possibilities in your area.
Do your research.
Contact your local cemeteries to talk about green burial.
Contact your local funeral homes and ask about their practices.
As you research and engage in the process of preparing for your own death, you may begin to feel that you are making new connections
and broadening the horizons of your own community.  This is what community deathcare is all about!

Different TYPES of BURIAL GROUNDS:

A HYBRID CEMETERY is a conventional cemetery with a green burial allotment, offering the option for burial without the need for a vault
(partial, inverted or otherwise), a vault lid, concrete box, slab or partitioned liner. Hybrid cemeteries do not require the embalming of decedents
and must allow for any kind of eco-friendly burial containers including shrouds.

A NATURAL BURIAL GROUND is one in which burial containers like vaults and grave liners are prohibited. Bodies cannot be embalmed
and the containers used must be made of natural or plant-based materials. The area is managed as naturally as possible.
Machinery will be kept to an absolute minimum, as will the use of markers (ie: you won't see ornate headstones in a natural burial ground).
Natural burial grounds will also prohibit the use of pesticides to maintain the grounds. 

A CONSERVATION BURIAL GROUND involves an established conservation organization that holds a conservation easement
or has in place a deed restriction guaranteeing long-term stewardship, further legitimizing the interest of land conservation.
This type of burial is exactly like a natural burial, but with stricter standards.

(Source material: https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/our_standards.html)


GREEN DEATHCARE MOVEMENT

EARTH FRIENDLY BURIALS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTALIST

WHAT IS GREEN OR NATURAL BURIAL?

EMBALMING
History of Embalming
Myths about Embalming
Truths about Embalming
Source Material/Resources

ISN'T CREMATION GREEN?

AQUAMATION -- A GREENER ALTERNATIVE TO CREMATION?

LAWS & LOGISTICS

EDUCATE YOURSELF, MAKE A PLAN