What's a green burial?
Green burial? Natural burial? Green cemeteries? What's the deal?
Sometimes also referred to as natural burials, green burials or green funerals are burials that are intended to have as little impact on the environment as possible.
At Sol Levinson, we consider ourselves to be experts in green burial. We've been providing funeral services since 1892, with most of our families choosing to forego embalming and use all-wood caskets. We also have an in-depth knowledge of cemeteries throughout the region.
Many people who want to take into account the environmental impact of their end-of-life decisions are concerned with the very high amounts of energy needed for cremation, and feel strongly about returning to the earth. A traditional burial, at its most straightforward, is a green burial. We do not embalm, you can be dressed in a cotton or pure linen shroud with no metal in it, and the caskets we use are entirely made of wood and designed to biodegrade. All of our caskets come from North American casket companies.
Beyond that, the next concern tends to be the cemetery, what their requirements are for a vault and grave marker, and their method of maintaining the cemetery. Levinson's can handle burial services at any cemetery. When choosing a cemetery, there are several options in Maryland based on your preference for how strictly green the burial would be and what location you are looking for.
- Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery in Reisterstown has a green burial section where they don't allow embalming or vaults, and burials must be done in one of the pine caskets we offer. They also provide an engraved river stone to mark the grave, instead of requiring a full-size monument.
- Garden of Remembrance in Clarksburg is a Jewish cemetery that has been designated a Green Hybrid Burial Ground by the Green Burial Council (GBC). There are specific sections within the cemetery that do not require a vault, and their landscaping and maintenance policies have been reviewed and approved by the GBC.
- Bestgate Memorial Park near Annapolis and Woodlawn Memorial Park in Easton have very strict requirements in their green burial/natural burial sections. You must be buried dressed in a shroud, in a pine coffin. They dig the grave by hand, the pallbearers have to lower the casket by hand using straps, and the grave is marked by a river stone. The grass in the area is not cut - everything is left "to nature."
- There are many other cemeteries in the region where you can have some variation of a green funeral. Some cemeteries are non-denominational and some are Jewish cemeteries. There are those which allow you to be dressed in your own clothing, while others require the Jewish ritual of taharah (a ritual cleansing ceremony) and you must be dressed in a shroud. At many cemeteries a vault or concrete liner is optional. Most will require a standard marker, though some have flat marker sections that do not require a large stone.
Whether you are looking in the Baltimore, Columbia, Annapolis, or Westminster areas - or beyond - we can help find something that suits your needs. Our Advance Planning Specialists are available to review the various cemeteries and their requirements. We can help talk through locations, vault requirements, and other variables, to help narrow down the best cemetery for you.
As funeral directors, we have seen time and again how important it is to have this conversation ahead of time, so your family does not have to worry about these decisions.
If you would like any more information, please don't hesitate
to call. When you are ready to schedule an appointment to come talk to us about your preferences, please see our online calendar or call us at 410-653-8900 to discuss scheduling options.
