Alternative To Burials In Australia: Eco-Friendly Farewells

As our society becomes more environmentally conscious, many of us are seeking kinds of alternative to burials in Australia. These new choices offer ways to honor our loved ones while minimizing environmental impact. Let’s explore some of these alternatives and how they can be the right way for us to return to nature when our time comes.

What Are Alternatives to Burials In Australia?

Alternative to burials are different ways of laying someone you love to rest that differ from the traditional practice of burying a deceased body in a coffin. These alternatives often aim to be more environmentally friendly, cheaper or personally meaningful. 

It’s no secret that Aussies love the outdoors. From the Red Centre to the Great Barrier Reef, we’re home to some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes. So it’s no surprise that we’re starting to think about how to look after these places when we’re gone.

As Australians become more environmentally conscious, many are looking for ways to reduce their impact on the planet after they’re gone.

Natural Burial Australia

A natural burial is the burial of a body in the ground in such a way as to allow it to decompose naturally with the least possible impact on the environment.

Read more about natural burials in Australia

This process avoids embalming fluids which contain carcinogen that pollutes the environment and applies methods to allow deceased bodies to return to earth through natural decomposition. 

Natural burials are becoming increasingly popular in Australia as people seek to minimize their environmental impact. These burials typically take place in dedicated natural burial grounds or within sections of traditional cemeteries. The burial site is often marked with native plants or trees instead of headstones, creating a living memorial that contributes to the local ecosystem.

Here Are Natural Burial Places In Australia:

1. Sacred Earth Funerals: Provides eco-friendly natural burial services particularly in the Lismore area of New South Wales. website

2. Environmentally Friendly Cremations: Offers water cremation (aquamation) as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional cremation or burial. website

3. Kingston Funerals: Based in Melbourne, they offer natural burial services. website

4. Earth Funerals: A not-for-profit organization working to develop natural and restoration burial grounds across Australia. website

5. The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT) offers natural burial options such as tree burial at Living Legacy Forest. website

6. Wellington Dam Legacy Forest: located south of Perth, Western Australia, is a memorial forest where ashes are treated and planted with native trees. website

7. Green Haven Funerals in Melbourne offers eco-friendly funeral services with biodegradable materials, natural burial grounds, and locally sourced organic catering to minimize environmental impact. website

8. Mornington Green in Somerville, Victoria, offers memorial tree planting where ashes are infused into trees, creating lasting legacies while planting an additional 200 trees for you to offset your carbon footprints. website

Ecological Burial In Australia

It is the natural return of our bodies to earth without chemicals. Your loved one is laid to rest in a beautiful natural setting such often in a wide conservation effort. Usually, a body is buried in a shallow grave (around 1.2 meters deep) to promote natural decomposition.

What differs from a natural burial is that an eco-burial goes a step further. While both avoid harmful practices, eco-burial sites are often part of a wider conservation effort. They may have stricter rules about markers and materials and are usually dedicated to the long-term preservation of the land and dedicated to nature reservations.

Here Is A List Of Ecological Burial Practice Locations In Australia:

1. Mornington Green Legacy Gardens, Victoria: Offers tree burial services where cremated remains are used to nourish a tree, located on the Mornington Peninsula-Maps
2. Wellington Dam Legacy Forest, Western Australia: Located in Wellington National Park. Offers tree burials using native species like Jarrah, Marri, Blackbutt and Bull Banksia. And is part of a conservation project to rehabilitate 8 hectares of land-Maps
3. Sydney Kemps Creek Memorial Park, NSW-Maps
4. Lismore Memorial Gardens, Goonellabah NSW,-Maps
5. Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens & Lawn Cemetery, Worrigee NSW-Maps
6. Enfield Memorial Park – Clearview, South Australia-Maps
7. Smithfield Memorial Park – Adelaide, South Australia-Maps
8. Lilydale Memorial Park, Victoria-Maps
9. Alberton Cemetery, Gold Coast, Queensland-Maps
10. Kingston Cemetery, Tasmania-Maps
11. Pinaroo Valley Memorial Park, Western Australia –Maps

These locations offer various forms of ecological burial practices, including natural burials without embalming, biodegradable coffins or shrouds, and using ash treatment methods allowing a tree to grow from the burial site.

Living Legacy Trees at Mornington Green

One innovative alternative to traditional burials comes from Mornington Green Legacy Gardens in Victoria. This unique ash treatment service offers a beautiful way to honor loved ones while contributing to the environment.

Here’s how it works:

1. You choose a Living Legacy Tree from a variety of species; cherry blossom, english oak, flame tree, gingko, golden wattle, and many more.
2. The ashes of your loved one are treated using a special process that detoxifies them and restores essential soil biology. We use The Living Legacy Formula for this.
3. The treated ashes are then infused into the chosen tree, allowing your loved one to literally become part of new life.

What makes Mornington Green special is the focus on creating a lasting, living memorial. 

Families can visit the gardens, watch their loved one’s tree grow, and even hold ceremonies or picnics in the beautiful surroundings. It’s a warm way to turn grief into growth and celebrate a positive environmental impact.

The best part? For every Living Legacy Tree planted, Mornington Green guarantees ongoing care and protection. This makes sure your loved one’s memorial can grow strong and can impact the environment for the long term.

As we become more aware of our impact on the planet, alternatives to traditional burials are becoming increasingly popular in Australia. Whether it’s a natural burial, an ecological burial, or growing to be a living tree in the afterlife, these options offer ways to celebrate life while nurturing the earth.

The most important thing is to choose an option that feels right for you or your loved one. And if you want to leave a lasting, positive impact on the environment, why not consider one of these eco-friendly alternatives? After all, there’s something beautiful about the idea of giving back to the earth that supported us throughout our lives. Also, next time if someone passes away, why not bring up these green options? You might just inspire someone to leave a legacy that’s as natural and beautiful as the Australian landscape itself.

Lets explore more about Mornington Green Legacy Gardens!

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