What makes Vermont Forest Cemetery unique?

Vermont Forest Cemetery is a natural burial cemetery. The state of Vermont defines natural burial as burial without embalming, where the body is buried in a casket or shroud made of natural, biodegradable material, without a vault, at a depth of 3.5 feet, in land that is managed in an ecologically-sound manner.

In a natural burial cemetery, bodies are buried so as to not disrupt the natural process of decomposition and the land retains its natural character. The microorganisms in the body work together with the microorganisms and mycorrhizal network in the soil (along with heat from the sun and oxygen) to efficiently recycle nutrients from the body, including carbon and nitrogen, into the surrounding plants and trees.

Vermont Forest Cemetery is located in the woods of Roxbury, two miles west of the geographic center of the state of Vermont. Although it abuts a tract of the Roxbury State Forest, the cemetery land had been logged for nearly a century. By creating a natural burial cemetery here, the health and natural biodiversity of the forest and its fauna will be restored and the land will be conserved in perpetuity.

VFC will look different from a conventional cemetery. Graves are nestled amid the trees and marked by surface markers. After burial, graves are allowed to rewild with understory vegetation. All are welcome. If you want to learn more we encourage you to read our blog and contact us at info@vermontnaturalburial.org