https://reasonstobecheerful.world/conservation-burials-rewilding-death/
"In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, a quiet revolution in
end-of-life practices is underway. At Ramsey Creek Preserve near Westminster,
South Carolina, the deceased do not rest under rows of cold marble, but beneath
meadows and oaks, their presence woven into the natural world.
The first body Billy Campbell buried on his land was the stillborn child of
friends. Then a colleague who died suddenly in a car accident “solidified the
rightness of it,” Campbell recounts.
Describing his mission, he says, “When you bury the first body it changes the
feel of the land. Connecting people to the land was always at the core.”
In 1996, Campbell and his wife Kimberley bought a dilapidated 33-acre farm with
the goal of restoring and preserving it. The visionary couple pioneered the
concept of conservation burials here and sparked a growing movement that seeks
to heal the land through a most unexpected means: death.
Unlike conventional cemeteries, Ramsey Creek Preserve sports no manicured
lawns, but thriving woodland with oaks, birches and maples. The Campbells
ripped out kudzu and other invasives, nurtured native plants and rewilded the
land. In spring, sugar maples and mountain laurels color the hills pink.
Bobcats, foxes, deer and even a black bear roam the preserve.
The Campbells bury the dead or their ashes here without embalming or other
chemicals, in a simple biodegradable shroud, quilt or wood box, and they dig
the graves by hand. “We invite the families to participate as much as they want
to,” Kimberley Campbell says. “Physical work is a good distraction when you’re
stressed and grieving.” The Campbells rescue any sensitive plants and restore
the habitat, leaving only a small mound that will eventually grow over. A
simple flat natural mafic stone marks each grave, blending seamlessly into the
landscape.
In 2006, Ramsey Creek Preserve became the first certified conservation burial
ground in the U.S., and perhaps the world. It has served as a laboratory to
develop standards of conservation burials, including best practices for natural
interment and ecological restoration. The Campbells dislike the terms “natural”
or “green” burial, because they aren’t clearly defined and sometimes mask
corporate greenwashing. They also dismiss ideas like human composting or
mushroom burial suits as “gimmicks,” and are convinced the significant
investments in such ideas would be better spent protecting land. “The land is
the burial suit,” Billy Campbell says. He defines conservation burials as
serving a higher, significant conservation purpose. “We call it CPR for the
land,” he says, “Conservation, preservation, restoration.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
