Books
Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead by Cody J. Sanders and Mikel C. Parsons, Fortress Press, 2023
Our Last Best Act by Mallory McDuff, Broadleaf Books, 2021
The Future of the Corpse: Changing Ecologies of Death and Disposition, Rothstein and Staudt, Editors, Praeger, 2021
Re-imagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials by Lucinda Herring, North Atlantic Books, 2019
The Natural Burial Cemetery Guide by Ann Hoffner, 2019
The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial by Elizabeth Fournier, New World Library, 2018
Changing Landscapes: Exploring the growth of ethical, compassionate, and environmentally sustainable green funeral practices by Lee Webster, 2017
Greening Death: Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring Our Tie to the Earth by Suzanne Kelly, Rowman and Littlefield, 2015
Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial, by Mark Harris, Scribner, 2007
Our Last Best Act by Mallory McDuff, Broadleaf Books, 2021
The Future of the Corpse: Changing Ecologies of Death and Disposition, Rothstein and Staudt, Editors, Praeger, 2021
Re-imagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials by Lucinda Herring, North Atlantic Books, 2019
The Natural Burial Cemetery Guide by Ann Hoffner, 2019
The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial by Elizabeth Fournier, New World Library, 2018
Changing Landscapes: Exploring the growth of ethical, compassionate, and environmentally sustainable green funeral practices by Lee Webster, 2017
Greening Death: Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring Our Tie to the Earth by Suzanne Kelly, Rowman and Littlefield, 2015
Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial, by Mark Harris, Scribner, 2007
Audio/Video
Deeply Rooted Conservation Burial Alliance
The Natural Burial Experience Lee Webster
Cremation Curious Lee Webster
The Underground Truth About Vaults Lee Webster
Environmental Justice in the Natural Burial Cemetery Lee Webster
Green Burial: How Natural Burials Help the Planet NowThis
How to Be a Grave Digger Atlas Obscura
Larkspur Conservation with John Christian Phifer
Renew the Land with Your Burial Carolina Memorial Sanctuary
Eco-Friendly Green Burials Catching On Stephen J. Johnson, Freddie Johnson of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery
In Memorium: Gravestones and Green Burials by Meghan B. Kelly, 5.25.18, WBUR Boston
Tennessee ‘Natural’ Burial Ground Will Offer A Simpler Farewell — Casket Optional by Amy Eskind and Evie Stone, 3.11.18, NHPR Weekend Edition
Green Burials: Another Way to Say Goodbye by Anne McQuary and Mary Soto, 2.18.18, WLTX19
Why Burying Loved Ones in Unmarked Graves Could Save Wildlife 11.7.17, New Scientist YouTube
A Burial Practice that Nourishes the Planet TEDMED with Caitlin Doughty 3.17
Why Burying Ashes is Harmful to the Environment Let Your Love Grow
Unexpected Facts About Green Burial TalkDeath 6.3.16 YouTube
Green Burial and Land Conservation 11.15.13, Peak Moment Television, YouTube
Saving One Million Acres for Two Thousand Years: Billy Campbell at TEDxGreenville, 5.1.13, YouTube
Dying Green Explores Conservation Through Natural Burial 5.12.12, PBS NewsHour, YouTube
Dying Green Ramsey Creek
Penn Forest Natural Burial Park Penn Forest Natural Burial Park, 12.9.11, YouTube
The Green Burial of Steve Sall by Manuel Valdes, 2010
The Natural Burial Experience Lee Webster
Cremation Curious Lee Webster
The Underground Truth About Vaults Lee Webster
Environmental Justice in the Natural Burial Cemetery Lee Webster
Green Burial: How Natural Burials Help the Planet NowThis
How to Be a Grave Digger Atlas Obscura
Larkspur Conservation with John Christian Phifer
Renew the Land with Your Burial Carolina Memorial Sanctuary
Eco-Friendly Green Burials Catching On Stephen J. Johnson, Freddie Johnson of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery
In Memorium: Gravestones and Green Burials by Meghan B. Kelly, 5.25.18, WBUR Boston
Tennessee ‘Natural’ Burial Ground Will Offer A Simpler Farewell — Casket Optional by Amy Eskind and Evie Stone, 3.11.18, NHPR Weekend Edition
Green Burials: Another Way to Say Goodbye by Anne McQuary and Mary Soto, 2.18.18, WLTX19
Why Burying Loved Ones in Unmarked Graves Could Save Wildlife 11.7.17, New Scientist YouTube
A Burial Practice that Nourishes the Planet TEDMED with Caitlin Doughty 3.17
Why Burying Ashes is Harmful to the Environment Let Your Love Grow
Unexpected Facts About Green Burial TalkDeath 6.3.16 YouTube
Green Burial and Land Conservation 11.15.13, Peak Moment Television, YouTube
Saving One Million Acres for Two Thousand Years: Billy Campbell at TEDxGreenville, 5.1.13, YouTube
Dying Green Explores Conservation Through Natural Burial 5.12.12, PBS NewsHour, YouTube
Dying Green Ramsey Creek
Penn Forest Natural Burial Park Penn Forest Natural Burial Park, 12.9.11, YouTube
The Green Burial of Steve Sall by Manuel Valdes, 2010
Print & Online Articles
2022
Piecing Together the Green Burial Movement by Olivia Milloway, Bitter Southerner, 2.8.22
2021
Green burials are slowly gaining ground among environmentalists, by Rachel Fritts, Science News, 3.2.21
Graveyards are Surprising Hotspots for Biodiversity, by Gemma Conroy, Scientific American, 2.24.21
People Who Love the Land Are Getting Interested in Green Burials by Amanda Gokee, VTDigger, 1.10.21
2020
The Green Burial Revolution: Sustainable End of Life Options, by Sandra Yeyati, Natural Awakenings, 10.30.20
Sustainable Death Care Improves Water, Soil and Air Quality, Interview with Lee Webster by Julia Brunner, EcoSpotlight, 10.12.20
Life After Death: What Human Burial Options Will Look Like in a Sustainable Future by Joan Meiners, Discover Magazine, 8.6.20
I visited a green burial cemetery in CA and it made me question everything about American funerals, by Isabella Jibilian, Business Insider, 8.5.20
It's a Good Thing: The cemetery industry sees a major plot twist by Matt O'Grady, BCBusiness, 7.7.20
Green Burial Giving Back to the Planet by Lee Webster, Green Energy Times, 6.21.20
Grand Prairie Cemetery Offers Green Burial, by John Kent, GreenSourceDFW, 5.18.20
Green Burials Adapt to Protect Death Care Workers in the Time of Pandemic, by Sarah Donahue, Cronkite News, 5.6.20
More Catholics choose green burials hoping for a lighter footprint, by Valerie Zehl, US Catholic, 4.21.20
The ‘green death’ movement: Scientific advances give more eco-friendly funeral options by Emily Gillespie, Fortune Magazine, 4.9.20
Green Burial: We’re All In the Same Cycle of Life by Nancy DeVault, Natural Awakenings, 4.4.20
Going Green: Why some are letting nature do its thing when it comes to burials by Alex Cooke, Racked, 2.24.20
This Green Burial Practice is Coming Back to Life, by Delaney Rose Eyermann, Vox Magazine, 2.20.20
No casket, no cost: Tennesseans go back to “natural” burial, by Justin McDuffie, Maggie Gregg, Nick Viviani, WDBJ, 2.20.20
Choose a green burial that isn't harmful to the environment, The Baltimore Sun, 1.17.20
This Farmer Wants to Return Our Bodies to the Land by Lynn Freehill-Maye, Modern Farmer, 1.5.20
2019
More people want a green burial, but cemetery law hasn’t caught up, by Alex Brown, Pew Charitable Trusts, 12.14.19
The Death Issue: Resting in Peace the Green Way by D. Patrick Rodgers, Nashville Scene, 10.31.19
Rethinking Death in America by Matthew Cella, US News & World Report, 10.31.19
Return to Nature by Lynne Freehill-Maye and Philip Pantuso, YES Magazine, 8.14.19
Southern Oregon Ranch Embraces Green Burial by the Jefferson Exchange, 7.30.19
Protecting Paradise: Natural Burials Provide Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Traditional Cemeteries by Patrick Nolan, Fox4, 7.8.19
Heartwood Preserve: a final resting place in nature by Alice Mary Herdon, Hernando Sun, 7.8.19
Rest Me in a Pine Box and Let the Fiddle Play by Mallory McDuff, New York Times, 6.26.19
We Need a Greener Way to Die by Nicole Wetsman, Popular Science, 5.23.19
Is it time we changed how we remember the dead? by Simon Ingram, National Geographic, 5.17.19
Why Some Are Ditching the Vault and Coffin for Natural Burials and At-Home Funerals by Kay Manning, Chicago Tribune, 5.1.19
Green Burials: There are a number of environmentally friendly alternatives by Janelle Janci, Lancaster Online, 4.28.19
More eco-friendly Americans are making a final statement by planning a ‘green’ burial by Deena Yellin, North Jersey Record, 4.15.19
Boston’s Other Housing Crisis: The Cemeteries by Nora Caplan-Bricker, Boston Magazine, 4.11.19
When Cemeteries Became Natural Sanctuaries by Allison Meier, JSTOR Daily, 4.11.19
Opinion: Why we should save the last tiny scraps of nature by William Laurance, Ensia, 3.21.19
More Americans are skipping traditional funerals in favor of green burials by Walecia Konrad, Considerable, 1.28.19
A Way Back to the Wildness of Death by Suzanne Kelly, On Being, 1.27.19
Why I Chose a Green Burial: The case for “cremation conversion” by June Smith, Good Times, 1.16.19
The Case for Natural Burial by Ken West, The Ecologist, 1.14.19
I Dug a Green Grave and Learned the Truth About the Dirty Death Industry by Brian Kahn, Earther, 3.3.19
2018
Make Death Green Again, by Tim Lydon, The Revelator, 11.28.18
Green Burials: At the End of Life, Thinking Outside the Coffin by Wendy McNaughton, The New York Times, 11.15.18
Pushing Up Trees: Is natural burial the answer to crowded cemeteries? by Saimi Jeong, The Guardian, 11.10.18
Natural Burials Are Rising, and That’s Good for the Planet by Sophie Yeo, Pacific Standard, 7.30.18
Make an Eco-Conscious Final Exit by Katie O’Reilly, Sierra Club, 7.22.18
Families Turn to “Green Burials” to Make Funerals Eco-Friendly by Dan Hurley, 6.6.18, WVXU
Back to the land by Andre Mayer, CBC News, 5.16.18
Opinion: Green funerals are a must by Noah Wingard, 5.7.18, The Tacoma Ledger
Thinking About Having A Green Funeral? Here's What To Know by Sonya Vatomsky, The New York Times, 3.22.18
After You Die You're Usually Not Environmentally Friendly. The alternative is green burial, by Lauren Williams, The Orange County Register, 2.26.18
2017
8 Myths About Dead Bodies You Probably Think Are True by Sonya Vatomsky Mental Floss, 11.13.17
How to Die: Sustainable Practices are Changing the Future of Burials by Kristin Hugo, 11.17.17, Newsweek
Wilderness Burials May be Better for the Environment and Boost Conservation Ana Aceves, 11.9.17, Nova Next Public Radio NPR
Why burying loved ones in unmarked graves could save wildlife by Alice Klein, 11.7.17, Daily News, New Scientist
Conservation from the Grave: Human Burials to Fund the Conservation of Threatened Species by Matthew Holden, Eve McDonald-Madden, Wiley Online Library, 10.30.17
Want to be green even after you’re gone? Here’s how by Ray Routhier, 8.13.17, Portland Press Herald
Natural Burials Are Growing in Popularity 7.1.17, Learning English
At Greenwood Cemetery, a Friendly Place to Talk About the End by Elyssa Goodman, 3.22.17, Village Voice with Amy Cunningham
2016
Green Death by Emily Malter, 10.31.16, Sierra Club
How Natural Burial Can Conserve Land in Middle Tennessee by Holly Meyer, 10.27.16, The Tennessean
Cemeteries, Ecological Restoration, Deep Time, and Net Present Value by Billy Campbell, MD, 10.9.16, Memorial Ecosystems blog
Don’t keep harming the planet after you die by Liza Field, 9.24.16, delmarvanow.com USA Today
Natural Burial: Bringing Death Back Down to Earth by Mark Harris, 8.3.16, The Progressive
A Different Way of Death: Why the Alternative Funeral Movement is Taking Hold in the United States by Kristen Warfield, 5.14.16, Medium.com
A Different Way to Die: the story of a natural burial by Katie Herzog, 5.29.16, Vox
What a Dying Industry Can Learn From the Death Industry by Steven Waldman, 5.17.16, Fortune Magazine
Keeping the Green in Green Burial by Suzanne Kelly, 5.13.16, Huffington Post
Traditional burials are ruining the planet – here’s what we should do instead by Max Plenke, 4.7.16, Business Insider
7 thoughts on Mushroom Suits, Burial Pods, and Other Thoughtful but Ultimately Useless Green Burial Innovations by Billy Campbell, 3.27.16, Memorial Ecosystems blog
The Redeeming Possibilities of Green Burial by Lee Webster, 3.21.16, Funeral Business Advisor
Green Burials Bring Awareness to Environmental Concerns by Allyson Chiu, 3.4.16, U.S. News & World Report
2015 and earlier
Ecological Burial Practices: Overcoming the Myth of the Infectious Corpse by Lorna Garano, 8.19.15, Truthout
Green Burials Make a Lot of Sense by Elizabeth Kulze, 8.19.14, vocativ
How Your Death Affects Climate Change by Katrina Spade, 12.3.14, Huffington Post
The Greenest Things to Do With Your Body After You Die by Amelia Martyn-Hemphill, 12.13.13, The Atlantic
Think Outside the Box: Being green at the end of life by Joe Sehee, 11.11, U.S. Catholic
Piecing Together the Green Burial Movement by Olivia Milloway, Bitter Southerner, 2.8.22
2021
Green burials are slowly gaining ground among environmentalists, by Rachel Fritts, Science News, 3.2.21
Graveyards are Surprising Hotspots for Biodiversity, by Gemma Conroy, Scientific American, 2.24.21
People Who Love the Land Are Getting Interested in Green Burials by Amanda Gokee, VTDigger, 1.10.21
2020
The Green Burial Revolution: Sustainable End of Life Options, by Sandra Yeyati, Natural Awakenings, 10.30.20
Sustainable Death Care Improves Water, Soil and Air Quality, Interview with Lee Webster by Julia Brunner, EcoSpotlight, 10.12.20
Life After Death: What Human Burial Options Will Look Like in a Sustainable Future by Joan Meiners, Discover Magazine, 8.6.20
I visited a green burial cemetery in CA and it made me question everything about American funerals, by Isabella Jibilian, Business Insider, 8.5.20
It's a Good Thing: The cemetery industry sees a major plot twist by Matt O'Grady, BCBusiness, 7.7.20
Green Burial Giving Back to the Planet by Lee Webster, Green Energy Times, 6.21.20
Grand Prairie Cemetery Offers Green Burial, by John Kent, GreenSourceDFW, 5.18.20
Green Burials Adapt to Protect Death Care Workers in the Time of Pandemic, by Sarah Donahue, Cronkite News, 5.6.20
More Catholics choose green burials hoping for a lighter footprint, by Valerie Zehl, US Catholic, 4.21.20
The ‘green death’ movement: Scientific advances give more eco-friendly funeral options by Emily Gillespie, Fortune Magazine, 4.9.20
Green Burial: We’re All In the Same Cycle of Life by Nancy DeVault, Natural Awakenings, 4.4.20
Going Green: Why some are letting nature do its thing when it comes to burials by Alex Cooke, Racked, 2.24.20
This Green Burial Practice is Coming Back to Life, by Delaney Rose Eyermann, Vox Magazine, 2.20.20
No casket, no cost: Tennesseans go back to “natural” burial, by Justin McDuffie, Maggie Gregg, Nick Viviani, WDBJ, 2.20.20
Choose a green burial that isn't harmful to the environment, The Baltimore Sun, 1.17.20
This Farmer Wants to Return Our Bodies to the Land by Lynn Freehill-Maye, Modern Farmer, 1.5.20
2019
More people want a green burial, but cemetery law hasn’t caught up, by Alex Brown, Pew Charitable Trusts, 12.14.19
The Death Issue: Resting in Peace the Green Way by D. Patrick Rodgers, Nashville Scene, 10.31.19
Rethinking Death in America by Matthew Cella, US News & World Report, 10.31.19
Return to Nature by Lynne Freehill-Maye and Philip Pantuso, YES Magazine, 8.14.19
Southern Oregon Ranch Embraces Green Burial by the Jefferson Exchange, 7.30.19
Protecting Paradise: Natural Burials Provide Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Traditional Cemeteries by Patrick Nolan, Fox4, 7.8.19
Heartwood Preserve: a final resting place in nature by Alice Mary Herdon, Hernando Sun, 7.8.19
Rest Me in a Pine Box and Let the Fiddle Play by Mallory McDuff, New York Times, 6.26.19
We Need a Greener Way to Die by Nicole Wetsman, Popular Science, 5.23.19
Is it time we changed how we remember the dead? by Simon Ingram, National Geographic, 5.17.19
Why Some Are Ditching the Vault and Coffin for Natural Burials and At-Home Funerals by Kay Manning, Chicago Tribune, 5.1.19
Green Burials: There are a number of environmentally friendly alternatives by Janelle Janci, Lancaster Online, 4.28.19
More eco-friendly Americans are making a final statement by planning a ‘green’ burial by Deena Yellin, North Jersey Record, 4.15.19
Boston’s Other Housing Crisis: The Cemeteries by Nora Caplan-Bricker, Boston Magazine, 4.11.19
When Cemeteries Became Natural Sanctuaries by Allison Meier, JSTOR Daily, 4.11.19
Opinion: Why we should save the last tiny scraps of nature by William Laurance, Ensia, 3.21.19
More Americans are skipping traditional funerals in favor of green burials by Walecia Konrad, Considerable, 1.28.19
A Way Back to the Wildness of Death by Suzanne Kelly, On Being, 1.27.19
Why I Chose a Green Burial: The case for “cremation conversion” by June Smith, Good Times, 1.16.19
The Case for Natural Burial by Ken West, The Ecologist, 1.14.19
I Dug a Green Grave and Learned the Truth About the Dirty Death Industry by Brian Kahn, Earther, 3.3.19
2018
Make Death Green Again, by Tim Lydon, The Revelator, 11.28.18
Green Burials: At the End of Life, Thinking Outside the Coffin by Wendy McNaughton, The New York Times, 11.15.18
Pushing Up Trees: Is natural burial the answer to crowded cemeteries? by Saimi Jeong, The Guardian, 11.10.18
Natural Burials Are Rising, and That’s Good for the Planet by Sophie Yeo, Pacific Standard, 7.30.18
Make an Eco-Conscious Final Exit by Katie O’Reilly, Sierra Club, 7.22.18
Families Turn to “Green Burials” to Make Funerals Eco-Friendly by Dan Hurley, 6.6.18, WVXU
Back to the land by Andre Mayer, CBC News, 5.16.18
Opinion: Green funerals are a must by Noah Wingard, 5.7.18, The Tacoma Ledger
Thinking About Having A Green Funeral? Here's What To Know by Sonya Vatomsky, The New York Times, 3.22.18
After You Die You're Usually Not Environmentally Friendly. The alternative is green burial, by Lauren Williams, The Orange County Register, 2.26.18
2017
8 Myths About Dead Bodies You Probably Think Are True by Sonya Vatomsky Mental Floss, 11.13.17
How to Die: Sustainable Practices are Changing the Future of Burials by Kristin Hugo, 11.17.17, Newsweek
Wilderness Burials May be Better for the Environment and Boost Conservation Ana Aceves, 11.9.17, Nova Next Public Radio NPR
Why burying loved ones in unmarked graves could save wildlife by Alice Klein, 11.7.17, Daily News, New Scientist
Conservation from the Grave: Human Burials to Fund the Conservation of Threatened Species by Matthew Holden, Eve McDonald-Madden, Wiley Online Library, 10.30.17
Want to be green even after you’re gone? Here’s how by Ray Routhier, 8.13.17, Portland Press Herald
Natural Burials Are Growing in Popularity 7.1.17, Learning English
At Greenwood Cemetery, a Friendly Place to Talk About the End by Elyssa Goodman, 3.22.17, Village Voice with Amy Cunningham
2016
Green Death by Emily Malter, 10.31.16, Sierra Club
How Natural Burial Can Conserve Land in Middle Tennessee by Holly Meyer, 10.27.16, The Tennessean
Cemeteries, Ecological Restoration, Deep Time, and Net Present Value by Billy Campbell, MD, 10.9.16, Memorial Ecosystems blog
Don’t keep harming the planet after you die by Liza Field, 9.24.16, delmarvanow.com USA Today
Natural Burial: Bringing Death Back Down to Earth by Mark Harris, 8.3.16, The Progressive
A Different Way of Death: Why the Alternative Funeral Movement is Taking Hold in the United States by Kristen Warfield, 5.14.16, Medium.com
A Different Way to Die: the story of a natural burial by Katie Herzog, 5.29.16, Vox
What a Dying Industry Can Learn From the Death Industry by Steven Waldman, 5.17.16, Fortune Magazine
Keeping the Green in Green Burial by Suzanne Kelly, 5.13.16, Huffington Post
Traditional burials are ruining the planet – here’s what we should do instead by Max Plenke, 4.7.16, Business Insider
7 thoughts on Mushroom Suits, Burial Pods, and Other Thoughtful but Ultimately Useless Green Burial Innovations by Billy Campbell, 3.27.16, Memorial Ecosystems blog
The Redeeming Possibilities of Green Burial by Lee Webster, 3.21.16, Funeral Business Advisor
Green Burials Bring Awareness to Environmental Concerns by Allyson Chiu, 3.4.16, U.S. News & World Report
2015 and earlier
Ecological Burial Practices: Overcoming the Myth of the Infectious Corpse by Lorna Garano, 8.19.15, Truthout
Green Burials Make a Lot of Sense by Elizabeth Kulze, 8.19.14, vocativ
How Your Death Affects Climate Change by Katrina Spade, 12.3.14, Huffington Post
The Greenest Things to Do With Your Body After You Die by Amelia Martyn-Hemphill, 12.13.13, The Atlantic
Think Outside the Box: Being green at the end of life by Joe Sehee, 11.11, U.S. Catholic
A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers
bur borrowed from his children.
—John James Audubon
