10 Tips for Advocating in Your Community

1.      “Please consider creating a green burial section in your cemetery where I may be buried without the use of a concrete grave liner.”
2.      “I/We would be happy to help you, including speaking to your board of directors/selectmen/town council, providing educational materials, and sharing information from other cemeteries who have done this.”
3.      “Burial without a concrete grave liner is legal, safe, easily learned, and more desirable to many.”
4.      “There is no one definition of green burial but this is what is important to me: to be in a biodegradable container or shroud, to not have a concrete grave liner, and to not be embalmed. It would also be wonderful if you modified your grounds maintenance practices to be more environmentally friendly. 
5.      “There are over 450 green burial sites in the US — more than half are in existing conventional cemeteries and the rest are separate green cemeteries. Many are under development across the country and in Canada.”
6.      “More and more people, babyboomers especially, are asking for environmentally responsible burial options that reflect their personal values, and you are uniquely qualified to provide them.”
7.      “We know that you and your staff have the interests of families at heart, and this is one more way to help bereaved families. Green burial in a place that matters to them gives families a sense of place that aids in healing.”
8.      “The Green Burial Council offers certification for hybrid cemeteries as well as conservation cemeteries.”
9.      “I regularly speak to my friends and others about green burial and I personally know many people to whom the idea is very appealing. You could be the first in our area to offer green burial.”
10.   “There are other revenue generating activities that can go along with offering green burial, such as:

• Selling biodegradable products and family-centered services
• Incorporating multi-use offerings like educational, recreational and community events
• Capitalizing on other marketing strategies based on the fact that green burial families are eco-conscious, interested in reducing the carbon footprint of burial, and prefer locally-sourced and made containers and supporting the local economy.”