Conservation Burial Goals

Conservation burial is distinctly different from other levels due to its reliance on land trust partnerships to negotiate easements to protect the property in perpetuity. Independent natural burial grounds choosing to engage with a land trust will find valuable resources for both landowners, cemeterians, and land trusts on in our Document Library. For more Conservation Burial resources, go to NH Funeral Resources>Conservation Burial.

The goals of conservation burial are myriad—to set aside intrinsically valuable land for nature's sake and our own, to restore land that has been subject to man's misuse to one of balance and abundance, to maximize opportunities to engage authentically with nature at a profound moment in the lives of those who have experienced loss—and the list goes on.

To say that natural burial is simply interment in the ground without toxic chemicals, precious wooden or metal caskets, and cement vaults is both accurate and simplistic at the same time. Conservation burial, at its core, is about the creation and support of multidimensional social and ecological spaces that sustain us as they sustain the planet and all who dwell on it.
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For those seeking to expand protected lands through conservation burial, leaving a legacy for future generations is a key motivator. Equally important to those poised to receive the benefits of protected space is the promise of enhanced connection of human and natural communities.

Conservation cemeteries are a vehicle for transformative experiences that include direct participation before and during a funeral, and ongoing opportunities for engagement through life-affirming activities such as bird-watching, hiking, weddings, baptisms, family picnic days, community educational events, and much more.

What does conservation burial hope to achieve? Community. Connection. Sustainability. ​By design.
​—Lee Webster, Conservation Burial Alliance

Watch Burial as a Conservation Strategy

This free online course is designed to help land trusts, landowners, and the public understand the principles and practicalities of using burial as a conservation strategy. Keeping in mind the mission to first save land, we explore this opportunity to use a portion of protected land for burial and what that means for landowners and for land trusts.
Register at Redesigning the End to take the course or watch a video here.

Design and content by Lee Webster, NH Funeral Resources, Education & Advocacy