Burial in an Eco-Eternity Forest

Mother Earth News gets me into all kinds of trouble. After reading an article about green burials several years ago, I decided that a green burial sounded right for me. When I pass away, I want to have a minimal impact on the environment as well as my survivors' wallets.

So back in 2008 I did some sleuthing on the internet and found the Eco-Eternity Forest at Makemie Woods, a campground and woods owned by the Presbyterian Church. The Eco-Eternity Forest is an alternative to traditional burials.

I like the spot for several reasons. It is less than a 2-hour drive from home. To help preserve the forest, you lease a tree. A forester has picked certain trees that are likely to be around a while: the lease of the tree is for 99 years. According to the brochure, the "ashes of the deceased are laid to rest at the roots of a tree in the mature woodlands...Over time, the tree will absorb the nutrients of the ashes converting the tree into a living memorial." This is life-affirming to me.

I also like the flexibility and affordability of leasing a tree. The Eco-Eternity Forest welcomes pets, and not just when visiting the grounds. You can have the cremains of your pets actually buried with you. You can either lease an individual plot--very inexpensively!-- under a "community tree," or you can lease a "family tree." And the person who leases the latter gets to decide what "family" means. "Family" could include extended family members, friends, or even pets! And while leasing a tree costs $4,500 or more, you can bury up to 15 family members there, and the cost of the biodegradable urns is even included.

Mike Burcher, the Director of Makemie Woods, gave us a tour. The grounds are rustic and campground-like, not much like a park. There's a chapel on-site for Christian services. The setting will appeal to those who love hiking, nature, camping, and the woods. I honestly don't like camping very much, but I do love all the rest. And the specific spot we went to is really beautiful, surrounded on three sides by water from a reservoir.

Most of the trees available to lease in that part of the forest are beech trees. But today I decided to lease a black oak near the waterfront. Don and I have a love of trees and especially oak trees. There is a huge one ( a different species) in our front yard. It's home and food for all kinds of animals and is a sturdy and long-lived tree. There will be a little memorial plaque on the tree (instead of a tombstone) to help friends an family find it, and the grounds can be available for picnics, etc.

Don isn't sure how he feels about all this, but he and Aqua came along for a ride today and enjoyed the grounds. Mike took a picture of all three of us in front of my tree:

Don, Aqua, and I at my newly-selected black oak tree at Makemie Woods

Matthew, my son, seems OK with the idea. I hope the rest of the family is as understanding. Time will tell!

**Update on 7/30/14: The family so far has been fine with the idea. The dear old dog in the picture, recently died of a combination of old age, kidney failure, and snake bite. We had her cremated, found our tree, and put our ashes there. We strongly suggest getting a good GPS coordinate on your tree, if you choose to lease one, to make it easier to find the spot again. R.I.P., sweet Aquaphilia!

He Promised Me the Sun...

My sweet husband, Don Burke, and I had a critical conversation last winter. It was about our future garden, specifically where to locate our raised beds. He told me that the sun would track across our shady, woodsy back yard in such a way that the spot we (= mostly he) had picked out for the vegetable beds would get enough sun. Vegetables, especially the fruiting types such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, need a minimum of six hours of sun a day.

I told him I had my doubts. Once the trees leaf out, I said, there won't be enough sun.

Famous last words:

Don looked around at the surrounding trees and said, "I can make more sun. Tree limbs I can cut down." With that promise, I agreed to the spot.

Guess what? My summer garden is in partial shade, and there is not enough sun for the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Leafy greens like beans, lettuce, and basil can get by with less sun that folks realize, but the aforementioned summer favorites must have more.

I reminded Don of his promise frequently, about every other day. I honestly tried not to harp on it so much, but a promise is a promise, and there's only one growing season. I would have planned the garden differently if I had known to plan for less sun.

The Tree. Cut Limb On Left.

There's a big tree near our back porch. It had a few dead limbs that needed cutting, anyway. Don figured he'd keep his promise and save the cost of a tree service by cutting the old tree's massive limbs back himself to let in more sun. He did a good job, except the massive limb was longer than he thought, and  he dropped it on the neighbor's property as well as ours despite the precautions he'd taken.

Luckily, nobody was hurt. Don managed to miss the neighbor's house, his pool, and most of his hot tub, too. He just damaged the two fences that divide our backyards and the hot tub cover. Don plans to fix our fence and pay to for the neighbor's repairs. He says, even with those expenses, the job was still cheaper than hiring a tree service.

The Damage From Our Side of the Fence

I bit my tongue. Sometimes a man just needs to be right.

The neighbor was pretty understanding when he recovered from his shock a little bit. He seemed tickled to learn that Don had promised his new bride the sun and he delivered.

The thing that concerns me is, Don is not finished with that tree. But the repairs are slowing him down along with the debris removal, and he is talking about hiring a tree service for a future bigger job. I am still holding my tongue but rejoicing and encouraging him. There's nothing like young love, even in one's later years.

Debris

**Update on 8/18/13: We had some other trees on the property that needed a professional's attention, so we hired one to cut back this particular tree in a way that will give us much more sun on our gardens. Today was the first sunny day since the tree was worked on, and I'm thrilled with the afternoon sun in my yard. Maybe my tomatoes will finally ripen up.