Humboldt County Approves First ‘Green Cemetery,’ Where Bodies Return Naturally to the Earth

Sacred Groves Executive Director Michael Furniss

A “green cemetery” project that seeks to allow the dead to “return to the earth gently, in harmony with the land” has been permitted by Humboldt County’s Planning Commission.

The operations plan of Sacred Groves, Inc., the non-profit permit applicant, also describes green cemeteries as “living sanctuaries” demonstrating “a shift in how we think about death, memory, and our place in nature.”

A conditional use permit for the Sacred Groves Conservation Green Burial Cemetery was approved at the commission’s Nov. 6 meeting.

Located on Kneeland Road in the Kneeland area about 1.5 miles from the Butler Valley Road intersection, Sacred Groves will encompass 47 acres with a maximum burial density of 120 graves per acre.

Sacred Groves project site’s grassland area

Sacred Groves Executive Director Michael Furniss defined green burial’s basic aspects as “no embalming, only biodegradable materials and no concrete vault or plastic liners.”

The cemetery site is currently used for hay production, grazing and forestry. Those uses will continue, with some of the hay field converted to oak savannah forest.

Sacred Groves will offer three burial options – forestland burial, grassland burial and burial in the oak savannah restoration area.

Furniss, who described himself as a “soil scientist,” highlighted the ridge-top project site’s suitability as a cemetery.

“It has a highly suitable soil, which is crucial, and is a big reason we chose and are pursuing this site,” he said. “It has excellent, deep, well-textured, loamy soil, good organic matter, good percolation characteristics and infiltration, good aggregate stability, rich biota, and is highly fertile.”

He added, “So it’s really an ideal soil, and that really turns me on.”

Green burial is a growing movement, with about 20 green cemeteries in the U.S. California has green cemeteries in Lincoln and Mill Valley, and the Caspar Cemetery in Mendocino allows green burials.

So does Trinidad Cemetery, by “special arrangement,” Furniss said, but he added that it’s “very nearly full and the Trinidad City Council has recently tripled the price to discourage clients in hopes of saving the very few remaining spots for Trinidad residents or those having relatives that are buried there.”

Furniss said 492 mostly local people have “signed up and are following our progress.”

Enthusiastic support for Sacred Groves was voiced during a public comment period.

Marc Daniels, the co-owner of the Mind’s Eye Coffee Lounge in Ferndale, related his non-profit sector work in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, where green burials are a timeless tradition.

“When somebody passes away in the community, it’s the family and the community that lovingly prepare the deceased, build the casket, dig the grave, care for the person, and that heals a community,” he said. “I’ve seen it so many times over the years and ever since I started learning about green burial, I know I’m in favor of it and I think it’s wonderful that we might have that option more.”

McKinleyville resident Jennifer Wheeler, a botanist and environmental scientist, described green burial as part of a natural cycle.

“I don’t want my last contributing act on this Earth, if at all possible, to be adding to more human-caused pollution,” she said. “No cremation carbon emissions, no forever garbage in or on the ground, no plastic flowers, no polyester flags. I want my children and grandchildren to come visit my final resting place in the most natural place possible and in doing so, offer them a place to find communion, perspective and beauty in an increasingly disordered world.”

Rick Littlefield, owner of Eureka Natural Foods, said green burial “seems like such a natural kind of an approach to end of life with some dignity, and we don’t have that choice right now.”

Rebecca Stauffer, a member of Sacred Groves’ board of directors, said green burial is “the cleanest, greenest, and really most beautiful way to bury our loved ones” and is “so Humboldt county.”

The conditional use permit is necessary due to the site’ zoning but written public comments have been largely supportive.

Potential issues related to a watercourse, a water utility line and a cultural resources site in the vicinity are addressed by excluding them from the project’s activity area.

Some commissioners raised public health and safety concerns, questioning whether burials will be deep enough to prevent animal disruptions.

But a written staff report says “no evidence has been submitted that the project, as conditioned and mitigated, will be detrimental to public health, convenience, safety and welfare,” and a minimum burial cover depth of 18 inches was ultimately deemed to be adequate.

Commissioners’ approval of the permit was unanimous.