Demand for Natural Options Outpacing Expectations
Dignity Memorial®, North America’s largest provider of funeral and cemetery services, has officially opened a Green Burial Council (GBC) certified cemetery park at Cedar Lawns Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Redmond, Wash.
Cedar Lawns has dedicated approximately one acre next to a landscaped garden for green burials on its 16-acre grounds. Green, or natural burials, reduce environmental impact through the use of nontoxic and biodegradable materials, such as GBC-approved caskets, burial shrouds and embalming fluids. Cedar Lawns is the first GBC-certified green burial cemetery in the Seattle metropolitan area.
“Since we opened our green burial park in July, we’re seeing more people than expected choosing the green burial option when purchasing a preneed plan”, said Sally Estoy, general manager of Cedar Lawns. “Client families purchasing the plots love the idea of a more natural, earth-friendly burial.”
Cedar Lawns, located at 7200 180th Ave NE in Redmond, is strictly following the criteria developed by the GBC. In addition to the use of GBC-approved materials, the GBC prohibits the use of vaults, vault lids, concrete boxes, slabs or partitioned liners in the burial plot. The green burial park at Cedar Lawns offers both traditional plots and smaller spaces for urns.
“We are pleased that Dignity Memorial chose to provide green burials as an option at Cedar Lawns Memorial Park,” said Kate Kalanick, executive director for the GBC. “Going through our rigorous certification process requires cemetery operators to agree to a level of transparency, accountability and third-party oversight that entails a true commitment to protecting the environment, and Cedar Lawns embraced it from the beginning.”
In addition to following the guidelines set up by the GBC for locations offering green as well as traditional burials, Cedar Lawns will use locally-sourced stones and boulders inscribed with the decedent’s name rather than traditional granite markers or monuments. Landscaping and grounds maintenance for this portion of the cemetery will also be minimal, in keeping with the plan to preserve the naturalistic environment.
About Cedar Lawns Funeral Home and Memorial Park
Cedar Lawns Funeral Home and Memorial Park is a proud Dignity Memorial® provider in Redmond, Wash. The Dignity Memorial network of more than 2,000 funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers is North America’s most trusted resource for funeral and memorialization services. Dignity Memorial providers offer an unmatched combination of products and locations serving families with care, integrity, respect and service excellence to celebrate a life like no other. For more information, visit http://www.dignitymemorial.com/cedar-lawns-funeral-home.
About the Green Burial Council
The Green Burial Council is the environmental certification organization setting the standard for green burial in North America. We offer environmental certificates for funeral homes, cemeteries and product manufacturers. GBC certification allows consumers to be able to distinguish between the three levels of green burial ground and understand that each has a different set of standards. It requires cemetery operators commit to a certain degree of transparency, accountability and third party oversight. And it prevents future owners from going back on whatever ecological or aesthetic promises have been made in the past — from limitations on burial density that protect a local ecosystem to prohibitions against the use of monuments that would negatively impact a viewshed. For more information, visit https://greenburialcouncil.org/.
