Could Trees Be the New Gravestones?

[marble falls]

Last edited Sat Apr 18, 2020, 05:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Could Trees Be the New Gravestones?

A California start-up wants to “redesign the entire end-of-life experience.” The answer to “eternity

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/style/forest-burial-death.html

By Nellie Bowles

June 12, 2019

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —

<snip>

And so Mr. Gibson’s company is buying forests, arranging conservation easements intended to prevent the land from ever being developed, and then selling people the right to have their cremated remains mixed with fertilizer and fed to a particular tree.

<snip>

There is a certain risk to being buried in a start-up forest. When the tree dies, Better Place says it will plant a new one at that same spot. But a redwood can live 700 years, and almost all start-ups in Silicon Valley fail, so it requires a certain amount of faith that someone will be there to install a new sapling.

<snip>

Customers come to claim a tree for perpetuity. This now costs between $3,000 (for those who want to be mixed into the earth at the base of a small young tree or a less desirable species of tree) and upward of $30,000 (for those who wish to reside forever by an old redwood). For those who don’t mind spending eternity with strangers, there is also an entry-level price of $970 to enter the soil of a community tree. (Cremation is not included.)



<snip>

Nellie Bowles covers tech and internet culture. Follow her on Twitter: @nelliebowle

[blueinredohio]

1. I plan on something similar.

When my husband and I are both gone we want our ashes mixed and divided between our two girls so they can plant a tree on each of their properties. They can think of us as it grows and if it dies or they end up moving, oh well.

[marble falls]

2. There a cemetary in Austin where you can be buried without embalming in a cotton shroud ...

It a park like setting and the cost is around $2000. That's what I want and and I do not want a stone or marker.

I was concerned about the mercury in my fillings, but I have heard of a "mushroom suit" that will lock up the mercury over time. Becoming a mushroom log sounds like good thing.

[blueinredohio]

8. Sounds like a good idea.

I don't want a stone, marker or a service. Just cremate me and get on with your life.

[csziggy]

3. Cremation does not preserve the nutrients well

It might be better for the trees to simply mulch the body, but most people consider that a little gross -

A side note on ashes as food for trees

A lot of people these days are interested in using ashes as a kind of compost for a tree: the idea being that the tree will benefit from the plant-friendly minerals (calcium, potassium and phosphorus), in the ashes and become a kind of memorial for the person who has died.

This is a bit of a misconception: a tree won’t flourish in ashes alone, as the pH of human ashes is a little too high, as are salt levels. However, some special tree-urn companies now blend the ashes with a special compost that they claim evens things out and gives the tree everything it needs.

I plan to be buried on my farm - I'd rather not have a memorial but apparently it is illegal to plant a body on private land without one. I have a plan to get around that, the next step will be to make it a green burial with no poisons pumped into my body. Now that green burials are becoming more prevalent, that should be easier in the future.

More: https://www.quora.com/What-if-any-nutrients-remain-after-cremation

[marble falls]

4. Actually in one of the snipped parts they mention composting the first one buried with the tree ...

I think putting the tree and and me in the same hole works well. I'd like a tree that feeds wild-life somehow.

[csziggy]

5. Depending on your area, oaks tend to make a lot of biomass for animals

The squirrels around here hang out under the oaks searching for acorns all year long, not just in the fall. Plus, many oaks live a very long time. Here, if I wanted a long term tree memorial I'd plant a live oak, They can live for hundreds of years and feed a lot of animals aside from the squirrels.

Fruit trees are good but they tend to need more care.

[marble falls]

6. I'm out here in LIve Oak and Pecan country. I'll get something good.

[demigoddess]

7. I told my husband I would like to feed a tree but I had more the idea that

they would bury me and plant a tree on top. Trees will clean the air and provide oxygen for the future. Stop cutting down trees and start planting them.