the Natural Burial Company - USA: Natural Burial Grounds, USA

Many folks wonder where they can get a natural burial. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of cemeteries in North America that currently offer vault-free burial options. We don't know who they are yet, because they're just learning about the natural burial movement, and they're slowly raising their hands and saying "We do that, too!"

Many of them, like the historic pioneer Fern Prarie Cemetery in Camas, Washington or the Eugene Masonic Cemetery, have offered vault-free burial or tended their grounds in a natural fashion for decades, or even centuries. Others offer a full return to the earth for Muslims and other religions that maintain their traditions to this day - ask around; you might be surprised.

Cities around the country are changing how they manage landscapes, lowering their pesticide use and enhancing greenspace. Cemeteries are naturals! If you want to work on finding a cemetery near where you live that will offer a natural burial before you actually need one, the condensation of Be a Tree has a few suggestions about how to get something started in your neighborhood. Don't hesitate to call a funeral director or two and see what they know about the cemeteries nearby.

Growing Options in North America

In the UK, over 250 woodland burial sites around the country now offer people a wide selection of opportunities for a natural end, where you can be buried without embalming, in a biodegradable casket, and even turn into a tree in many of the most popular places - it's catching on here, too.

North American sites that offer some form of vault-free or natural burial:

Check out our growing lists of cemeteries (below or to the right) and funeral service providers that say they offer some form of natural option.

Listing them is our way of supporting any funeral home or cemetery that wants to "get natural", wherever they're at in the process of changing toward more sustainable land management methods. Our firm will participate in the identification of the "best of the best" after enough contenders have emerged:

In the meantime, here's a list of cemeteries offering some form of natural option that grows weekly: