picture courtesy of Clandon Wood natural burial ground

Farmers, local authorities, wildlife charities and landowners are developing natural burial grounds.

A natural burial cares for the environment and offers a more organic vibe for funerals.

Get a sense of the vibe on our Flickr page and in the slide show from the launch of Clandon Wood below.

There are over 260 natural burial grounds now across the UK. They are a mix of established woods, farmlands, fields that will transform over time into woodlands, orchards. This back-to-nature option offers up good-for-the-soul resting places among mown wildflower meadows, manicured parkland, wild forests and soon-to-be leafy grounds, where a tree is planted each time someone is buried. A spiritual space for reflection; a wildlife habitat that will help our flora and fauna.

 

The inspiring Ken West (pictured with wife Anne) has championed natural burial grounds and it’s thanks to his unremitting efforts that the first natural burial ground in the world opened in the UK in 1993 as an alternative to churchyard cemeteries and soul-less modern burial grounds. Woodland burials and natural burial grounds are finally taking off – about time.

Read Ken’s book: Guide to Natural Burial to find out more, and his new book RIPoff: The British Way of Death.

See our Marketplace directory for links to our favourite burial grounds.

For a full listing of the 260-odd natural burial grounds across the UK, see the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s  website.

Tracking unmarked graves

It’s possible to track unmark graves using technology. Assettrac explained to us that they provide microchips for natural burial grounds to ensure we can track where someone was buried. This helps where family members want to be buried together and is a legislative requirement in case a body has to be exhumed for any reason.