Welcome

Who We Are

​We are a dedicated group of owners, operators, advocates, and partners working together to support the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of conservation land that incorporates natural burial cemeteries.

(Standing l-r) Jeff Masten, David Ponoroff, Jodie Buller, Freddie Johnson, Caroline Yongue, Cassie Barrett, Heidi Hannapel, Laura Starkey, John Christian Phifer. (Seated) Kimberley Campbell and Billy Campbell. Photo by Lee Webster

What You Will Find Here

Learn how conservation organizations have partnered with us to make natural burial possible on permanently protected land, and read the stories of the families we serve, connecting people with the land in time-tested tradition.

What Conservation Burial Seeks to Achieve

The goals of conservation burial are myriad—to set aside intrinsically valuable land for nature's sake and our own, to restore land that has been subject to man's misuse to one of balance and abundance, to maximize opportunities to engage authentically with nature at a profound moment in the lives of those who have experienced loss—and the list goes on.

To say that natural burial is simply interment in the ground without toxic chemicals, precious wooden or metal caskets, and cement vaults is both accurate and simplistic at the same time.

​Conservation burial, at its core, is about the creation and support of multidimensional social and ecological spaces that sustain us as they sustain the planet and all who dwell on it.

For those seeking to expand protected lands through conservation burial, leaving a legacy for future generations is a key motivator. Equally important to those poised to receive the benefits of protected space is the promise of enhanced connection of human and natural communities.

​Conservation cemeteries are a vehicle for transformative experiences that include direct participation before and during a funeral, and ongoing opportunities for engagement through life-affirming activities such as bird-watching, hiking, weddings, baptisms, family picnic days, community educational events, and much more.

What does conservation burial hope to achieve? Community. Connection. Sustainability. By design.

Photo courtesy of Heidi Hannapel, Landmatters

The purpose of conservation: The greatest good to the greatest
​number of people for the longest time.
​— Gifford Pinchot