Well spring was nice for a few days. We have the white stuff again on the back lawn.
I'm sending a story in our Lafayette paper today. More ideas on green burial.
LA
http://www.jconline.com/article/20090406/BUSINESS/904060322&referrer=...
An odd eco-friendly request
By MAX SHOWALTER . April 6, 2009
Jim Field has custom designed wood furniture for clients that include actor John
Malkovich, actress Jane Fonda, singer k.d. lang and television mogul Oprah Winfrey.
He also has created stage props and background sets for theatrical productions.
But what Field termed a "strange request" from a friend is the most unusual
piece of work he had ever turned out -- a 61/2-foot casket.
"He said, 'I'm just planning ahead.' He wanted it to be functional.
He's using it as a bookcase," said Field, owner of J.E. Field Co., a store at 634
Main St. in Lafayette that specializes in custom furniture, lighting, art and unique
accessories.
Made from 100-year-old oak wood salvaged from a hog barn, the casket has been sanded,
stained and sealed. Fields' friend has installed shelves in the coffin that hold
books.
"When he dies he's going to be shown in the casket and then cremated. It made me
start thinking," said Field.
As a result Field has been educating himself about the concept of green burials, where
bodies are placed in a casket made of a biodegradable product and buried in a grave with a
natural setting.
"We could build them for $500 to $1,000 -- maybe even a little less. Instead of the
traditional metal ... people could come in and pick out their own wood. Or they could
bring in, for instance, their own lumber from their grandpa's barn."
Increased interest
A green burial can take place without the use of formaldehyde-based embalming, metal
caskets and concrete burial vaults.
The Green Burial Council, an organization formed in 2005, provides certification for
burial grounds that engage in restoration planning and stewardship.
Natural Burial Grounds are required to have in place a deed restriction to ensure that a
green cemetery now remains one in the future.
GBC Conservation Burial Grounds are required to have a conservation easement held by an
established land trust.
More than 10 acres of the 81-acre Spring Vale Cemetery in Lafayette are being converted to
The Preserve, a natural site which will allow green burials to take place less than four
feet below ground.
Hippensteel Funeral Home and Crematory in Lafayette is a member of the Green Burial
Council and has handled arrangements for three green burials at Spring Vale Cemetery. The
most recent was held last Friday.
"Several families have pre-arranged for natural or green burials. We get (inquiries)
every day," said Hippensteel business manager Joe Canaday. "We have prairie
grass and wildflowers planted at The Preserve. They should be up in another six
weeks."
Tippecanoe Memory Gardens, a 52-acre cemetery in West Lafayette, also is being contacted
by people interested in the burial option.
"We will do green burials. It does not require another container. It has to be a
green-type container that is biodegradable," said Tippecanoe Memory Gardens President
Bruce Wilhoit. "We're going to allow it pretty much everywhere in the cemetery,
with the exception of areas that already have vaults in the ground.
"One part of it is ecological. The other is savings. That's the one thing people
ask, 'Is it cheaper?' It can be the same price (as a normal burial) or
substantially cheaper. It gives people another option."
Hippensteel Funeral Home and Crematory in Lafayette is a member of the Green Burial
Council and has handled arrangements for three green burials at Spring Vale Cemetery. The
most recent was held last Friday.
"Several families have pre-arranged for natural or green burials. We get (inquiries)
every day," said Hippensteel business manager Joe Canaday. "We have prairie
grass and wildflowers planted at The Preserve. They should be up in another six
weeks."
Tippecanoe Memory Gardens, a 52-acre cemetery in West Lafayette, also is being contacted
by people interested in the burial option.
"We will do green burials. It does not require another container. It has to be a
green-type container that is biodegradable," said Tippecanoe Memory Gardens President
Bruce Wilhoit. "We're going to allow it pretty much everywhere in the cemetery,
with the exception of areas that already have vaults in the ground.
"One part of it is ecological. The other is savings. That's the one thing people
ask, 'Is it cheaper?' It can be the same price (as a normal burial) or
substantially cheaper. It gives people another option."