This project located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts is on track to become the first conservation burial ground in the Commonwealth. Working with colleagues Kestrel Land Trust and Green Burial Massachusetts, we are supporting their partnership's goals with land assessment, site selection, and conservation burial planning and expertise. Once the land is acquired, the cemetery will be operated by an independent nonprofit providing the community with an option for green burial.
Aligned with environmental values and practices, the cemetery will be located on conserved land, and include a trail network, a community gathering space and quiet reflective areas for visitors. In the model of conservation burial, individuals will be 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 Valley Conservation Cemetery "A living, natural and lasting memorial"