Green Burial Presentation | Grand Rapids, Michigan

On January 23, 2022, we had the honor to speak to a group of interested people about green burial and our MI Burial project. Thank you to COS for hosting us! The presentation is about 45 minutes long, and covers the following topics:

• The evolution of cemeteries

  • Pre-historic context

  • Historic context

    • Colonial graveyards

    • Rural cemeteries

    • Modern cemeteries

• The environmental costs of conventional burial

• Facts about cremation

• A comparison between conventional burial and green burial

• The environmental impact of various interment methods (conventional burial, cremation/aquamation, natural burial, human composting, and conservation burial)

• What is conservation burial?

• How we can be part of something bigger

• The status of green burial in the US

• An overview of our work at MI Burial

  • Photographs of other conservation burial grounds from around the country

  • Statements from our survey participants that express general sentiments

  • The progress we have made, and our next steps

  • A meaningful story about what green burial means to us

Enjoy some of these graphics from the presentation: