City prepares to open first certified “green” cemetery in Alberta

Spruce and Pine trees were planted in 2018 to mark the areas where green burials will take place

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Chudyk believes Lethbridge is also the first city in Alberta that will be officially accredited by the Green Burial Society of Canada. There are two other cemeteries in B.C. and two in Ontario that are also certified.

What is a ‘Green Burial?’

A green burial, explains Chudyk, is one with out all the ‘bells and whistles,’ in its simplest form.

“It’s the whole ‘ashes to ashes’ idea,” he says.

There are five principles behind it, according to the Green Burial Society of Canada (GBSC):

1) No embalming – the body is prepared without any embalming fluid. It is treated with environmentally friendly soaps and disinfectants and refrigerated. The body can still be prepared for viewing in this way, although it’s best done within two weeks of a death.

2) The remains are then wrapped in a biodegradable shroud, or even a biodegradable box, and then placed into the ground with no liner, and in a shallower hole; four to five feet versus six to eight feet deep. The shrouds and boxes are also locally sourced.

3) Once the burial is completed, the grave is then planted with locally indigenous plants. In Lethbridge’s case, it will be prairie grass. Visitation of individual graves is discouraged, and there are no markers for them. Chudyk says if a family wishes to locate a loved one, it may be done by GPS initially. A communal path and locally sourced boulder(s) or other rock material may be used and engraved with the names of those buried in the area

Prairie Grass will be planted over the grave sites

4) The design of the sites will also use minimal infrastructure, including roads and paths. Those are to be made temporary and can be made into internment sites.

5) The re-use of graves after a body completes the decomposition process is also encouraged, although Chudyk says that’s not in their plans just yet. According to the Green Burial Society of Canada, only a small number of countries including Canada and the U.S. use the ‘perpetual right of interment’ model.

Why Lethbridge?

“It’s a movement out of Europe,” says Chudyk. “And then Vancouver picked it up, as far as Canada goes. And then our manager spearheaded it.”

The plans are in the final stages, and some minimal land development will take place at the cemetery.

The area will be located west of the main portion of the cemetery, but far enough back from the edge of the coulees, so that decomposing material doesn’t run down into the groundwater. A setback line will mark where bodies may not be buried.

“Back before we got used to the normal burial process now, there were people here who just lived on farm land. And when their loved ones passed away, they would have their own cemetery on the back 40 and there, they were just essentially green burial sites,” Chudyk explains. “Because they had locally sourced caskets, and no glues or anything like that. And they just went straight into the ground with no concrete liner or anything like that.”

However, he emphasizes it’s not considered a “cheap” burial site.

“It’s going to be (cost) relatively the same as a regular burial.”

The city will be officially certified by the GBSC by the time the space opens. Individuals won’t be allowed to pick their own gravesite, so to speak; they’ll be placed in the part of the green space that is currently in use.

And personally, Chudyk says the option is more attractive than being buried in a traditional casket.

“This is just back to the earth. All your energy is just released. Back to the soil, and it’s more circular.”

Anyone interested in the option can visit the Royal View Cemetery Office for more details.

by Lara Fominoff