Now here's something for future archaeologists to chew on:

'Green' burials gain in Calif., spurred by cost and ecology
By Bobby Caina Calvan, Globe Correspondent  |  October 2, 2004

MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- The organic movement has long been a way of life for
California's north coast, and now a Marin County cemetery is taking things
further: a "green" cemetery that touts biodegradable caskets, the
wilderness, and
a back-to-nature approach to taking care of the dead.

"There's really no need for a coffin, no need for embalming fluid, no need
for a headstone," said Joe Sehee, one of the partners in a venture promoting
so-called green burials. "Cemeteries, the way they're set up, are such a
waste of
land."

Forever Fernwood, as the cemetery is called, is on the leading edge of an
ecological movement within the funeral industry, which some critics say
needs
innovation and an image makeover.

Bodies wrapped in cloth -- or in wooden caskets, if so desired -- are placed
in the earth to decompose, their remains reclaimed by the natural cycle that
existed before the professional undertaker.

"It's like the old cowboy days, in the movies, when they wrapped them up and
put their bodies in the ground," said Rebecca Love, who was drawn by the
sheer
simplicity promised by Forever Fernwood when she buried a 42-year-old friend
who died in a traffic accident.

"He was a very simple man, and I knew his wishes: He wanted a simple
burial,"
Love said.

The man's body was wrapped in white and red cloth, then placed in a simple,
wooden casket. Friends and family scribbled messages on his coffin. He was
laid
to rest in a grave near hills and valleys.

"The industry is obsolete in many ways -- too focused on merchandising, too
focused on selling caskets and selling things that people don't need," said
Tyler Cassity, another partner, who recently bought the cemetery north of
the
Golden Gate Bridge and is restoring its 32-acre grounds.

Cassity envisions a cemetery that eschews manicured lawns, opting instead
for
the rustic charms of the natural terrain, its role as a cemetery undetected
by hikers traversing the hills and woods.

Global-positioning technology would be used to locate grave sites. Wireless
devices would transmit life histories and memorials.

Cassity, who consults on the HBO series "Six Feet Under," has long been
considered an industry innovator. He received attention when his family
bought the
legendary Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery. The facility had fallen into
bankruptcy and disrepair despite being the resting place for such Hollywood
stars
as Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, and Cecil B. DeMille.

He reopened the cemetery as Hollywood Forever, where he helped pioneer the
use of film, videotape, and computer technology in memorializing the dead.

The idea for the venture began when Sehee read about a small, ecologically
minded cemetery run by Billy Campbell, a country doctor in Westminster, S.C.

Sehee, who now handles marketing for Hollywood Forever, pitched the idea to
Cassity, and the endeavor was born. They invited Campbell to join.

"There's a market out there for this kind of thing. You've got people who
want to be buried in someplace pretty, people who are concerned about costs,
and
you've got the new agers and tree huggers," said Campbell, who calls himself
a
Buddhist Christian.

Green burials are routine in England, and in many other parts of the world
they are the predominant method. They were common practice in much of this
country until the Civil War, when embalming the dead became more widespread.

Funeral homes are an $11 billion industry, according to the National Funeral
Directors Association. A funeral service, not including the cost of a grave
site at a lawn cemetery, typically runs about $6,500. A green funeral costs
thousands less.

Despite growing competition, there will not be a shortage of business.
Nearly
2.5 million people died in the United States last year, and the death rate
is
expected to rise as baby boomers pass through their twilight years.

Fewer people are opting for burial. About 28 percent decide on cremation, up
from about 20 percent a decade ago, according to industry surveys.
Specialists
attribute the shift to cost and a less stringent adherence to traditional
rituals and social mores.

Campbell, who has dug three dozen graves in the lush meadows and woods near
his home, sees green cemeteries as "a direct spiritual connection between
people and the land" and as a way of preserving nature.

By opening burial grounds to hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts, Campbell
said, cemeteries won't be "just for the dead, but for the living." That is
the
expectation at Forever Fernwood, which is set in an area popular with
hikers,
dog walkers, and equestrians.

Landowners, intrigued by the venture, have offered property for green
cemeteries. The partnership is in negotiations to expand beyond Marin County
--
perhaps to New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Southern California.

"There's clearly more demand than we expected," Sehee said. "One reason it's
taking off is that it connects people with something larger than
themselves."

In the past two months, more than 700 people have inquired about burials and
other services at Forever Fernwood. The company says hundreds are on a
waiting
list. "They have to be deceased first," said Sehee, who had been a Jesuit
minister, a journalist, and a promoter of socially responsible enterprises
before
going to work in the funeral business.

Marin County would seem a natural spot for this kind of venture. The North
Bay is home to a large number of people devoted to alternative spirituality,
including new age religions. More than three-quarters of those who die in
Marin
County opt for cremation.

Joshua Slocum, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, based
in
Burlington, Vt., said: "This isn't just for environmentalists. This is a
return to the way we buried our dead before the American mortuary industry
began
telling us how we had to do it. I think it's the way of the future."

The industry is certainly taking notice, but it has much to learn about the
emerging movement, said Kurt Soffe, who runs two funeral homes in suburban
Salt
Lake City and is a spokesman for the funeral directors association. "It's
relatively new, and we need to get educated about why it appeals to folks,"
Soffe
said. "I don't think it will ever be a majority who settle for a green-type
funeral, but it could be a significant number."

C Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company