What makes Vermont Forest Cemetery Unique?

Our services include burial, interment and scattering of ashes, pet burial, and use of the "Memorial Grove" a place to honor who have died but whose bodies cannot be buried, including infants that died during pregnancy.

Burial services will be available once we open.

For burial in Vermont Forest Cemetery, bodies cannot be embalmed or otherwise chemically preserved (even with "green embalming" chemicals). Immediate burial is not necessary as bodies can be kept cool using refrigeration or ice. Bodies can be buried in a biodegradable container or shroud made out of natural materials- such a wood, cardboard, and natural fibers. Plastic is not permitted in the cemetery and metal and synthetic fibers are strongly discouraged. Vermont Forest Cemetery is open for burial 365 days a year.

Caskets made by Tim Graves from wood reclaimed from the forest are available for purchase (link coming soon). People are also welcome to provide their own caskets, shrouds, and burial containers. We encourage people to keep their carbon footprint small by shopping locally and will provide a list of resources soon. 

Working with a funeral director is not required. Please contact us to learn more and make arrangements. Our sister business, Ending Well, provides workshops and hands on support for people who do not wish to work with a funeral director. People can also refer to our planning guide (coming soon!).

Burial must take place between dawn and dusk. Burial may include a graveside service. People are welcome to assist in decorating the grave, lowering the body into the grave, and closing the grave. Once closed, the grave will rewild with understory vegetation. Paths to grave-sites will be maintained for visitors. Visits must take place during daylight hours, and all visitors must sign a log-book when entering and exiting the cemetery.

All burial sites are recorded with GPS coordinates and marked with iron pins. Burial sites are also recorded on a map. Graves may be marked with surface markers, or any marker that does not require a concrete base and does not disrupt the character of the burial area. All markers will be reviewed by the cemetery. Surface markers carved by Tim Graves on stone reclaimed from the forest will be available to purchase.

Coming soon: a section, taken from the planning book, about what to expect at a natural burial in Vermont Forest Cemetery. Including tips about how to dress and ceremony ideas.

Burial of household pets up to 250lbs is permitted and lots can be purchased for pet burial. Ashes of pets may also be included in burial or with interment of ashes.

We are committed to economic accessibility. A price list for burial options will be coming soon. Additional fees for winter, weekend, and holiday burials may apply. 

Options for ashes after cremation will be available once we open

Ashes after cremation can be interred in Vermont Forest Cemetery. Tim Graves makes urns from wood reclaimed from the forest that will be available for purchase (link coming soon). People are also welcome to provide their own urns. Urns must be made out of natural, biodegradable material such as clay, wood, and natural fibers.

Ashes may also be scattered in Vermont Forest Cemetery. Because ashes after cremation have a pH of 11.4 and are mostly inert salt, scattering can only take place in designated areas or incorporated into a burial lots in symbolic amounts. To learn more about other options for ashes such as keepsakes, turning them into jewelry, tattoo ink, fireworks, or coral reefs please refer to the the planning guidebook (coming soon).

Ashes can also be amended. Amending ashes after cremation helps neutralize their pH and allows the soil to access the calcium and phosphate. Amended ashes can be interred or either turned into the soil at a burial site or in a cremation lot.

Interment, scattering, and turning in of amended ashes can be accompanied by a ceremony. Laying ashes to rest in the cemetery must take place between dawn and dusk. People are welcome to assist in decorating the grave, lowering the ashes into the grave, and closing the grave. Once closed, the grave will rewild with understory vegetation. Paths to graves are kept open for visitors. Visits must take place during daylight hours, and all visitors must sign a log-book when entering and exiting the cemetery.

Interment graves are recorded with GPS coordinates and marked with iron pins. Interment graves are also recorded on a map. They may be marked with surface markers, or any marker that does not require a concrete base and does not disrupt the character of the burial area. All markers will be reviewed by the cemetery. Surface markers carved by Tim Graves on stone reclaimed from the forest will be available to purchase. No surface markers are permitted in the scattering areas,hanging decorations may be discussed with the cemetery.

We are committed to economic accessibility. A price list for options of laying ashes to rest will be coming soon.  Ashes can be laid to rest 365 days a year. Additional charges may apply for winter, weekends, and holidays. 

Coming soon: a section, also in the planning book, about what to expect when laying ashes to rest in Vermont Forest Cemetery. Including tips about how to dress and ceremony ideas.

The memorial grove will open with the rest of the cemetery.

We have set aside a section of Vermont Forest Cemetery as a memorial grove. This is a place where people can dedicate a space to honor someone who has died, but without a body to bury. Dedication of a place in the memorial grove can include a ceremony that takes place between dawn and dusk. Paths to dedicated places in the memorial grove will be kept open for visitors. Visits must take place during daylight hours, and all visitors must sign a log-book when entering and exiting the cemetery.

We invite people who have experienced death during pregnancy, or any other situation where burial of a body is not possible, to choose a site in the memorial grove. Sites can be marked with surface or hanging decorations made from natural materials that do not disrupt the character of the grove. All decorations must be approved by the cemetery.

Our planning guidebook, coming soon, will include information about the memorial grove.

We are committed to economic accessibility. A price list for dedications in the memorial grove will be coming soon. Dedications can take place 365 days a year. Additional charges may apply for winter, weekends, and holidays.

Graves may be marked with surface markers made of natural materials. No concrete is permitted in the cemetery. Flush markers, such as those provided by the VA, can be set in gravel.

Markers must not disrupt the character of the forest. Marker carvings must be approved by the cemetery.

Other memorial options include donating benches, sponsoring a trail, or portion of a burial, interment, or scattering area.

Hanging decorations approved by the cemetery are permitted.

Flags are permitted, but other plastic or non-natural material decorations will be removed after 24 hours.