Because life is too good to stop at death.
About us
The Land Conservation and Natural Burial Project formed in 2019, but our collective engagement with natural burial goes back much further.
Members of this group have been engaged in conservation and natural burial efforts for years as environmental educators, funeral directors, cemetery managers, chaplains, public health workers, funeral celebrants, journalists, public school teachers, outdoor enthusiasts, spiritual seekers and more.
We share a commitment to educating our communities about environmentally-friendly after-death care options and partnering with other organizations that share our vision of caring for the earth in our living and our dying.
Our purpose
We have come together to establish a conservation burial ground in the greater Twin Cities.
Group members visiting a land conservancy.
Our members
There are many people involved with our group in various ways. Here’s a little bit about who we are. We welcome you to join this effort!
Anne Archbold: A native of the prairie, I want to become prairie soil and nourish grasses, flowers and creatures after I die. I want my body to contribute to land conservation for future generations. I am a funeral celebrant, death educator and social worker.
Jean Buckley: Passionate about living and dying lightly on our precious planet. Retired Environmental Health Educator who promoted recycling and composting programs.
Marilaurice Hemlock: Natural burial is my whole-hearted gift of gratitude to the Earth, a way to feed the Earth home that has fed me all of my days. The soft tissue of my body can help produce soil, food, oxygen, homes, and endless beauty. I am a funeral celebrant, death educator, liturgist, and pastoral minister.
Paul Sommers: Inspired by the fallen trees in the forest, I want my body to become home to animals and bugs as I become compost for future life. For the past 25+ years I’ve been a history teacher.
Zac Willette: We humans tend to act like we are ON the earth instead of OF the earth. As a hospital chaplain, I love how Conservation Natural Burial gives our bodies one last connection to make, and gives our loved ones wonderful opportunities for healthy grief.
Karen Zeleznak: I am passionate about returning my body back to the land to nurture the earth's microbiome. I live in deep gratitude for an earth that has nurtured and sustained me. I am a retired public health worker and an active volunteer.
Our work so far
Since July of 2019, we have been:
Acquiring knowledge and skills needed to deepen our own understanding of land conservation, natural burial, MN statutes, cemetery operations, etc. through participation in trainings and conferences hosted by related organizations like the Green Burial Council, ReDesigning the End, Conservation Burial Alliance, Rally (the national gathering of the Land Trust Alliance), the National Home Funeral Alliance and others.
Making educational presentations to anyone who is interested. These sessions have included speaking with groups like: Community Ed, Public Libraries, Food Coops, Rotary clubs, Faith Communities, Social Workers, Death Care workers and others. We know that people can’t advocate for natural burial as an after-death care option if they don’t know about it!! Please contact us if you’d like a speaker for your group!
We have explored with an established land conservancy in the East Metro the possibility of establishing a conservation burial area on a parcel of the land they steward. For about two years, we engaged in an in-depth process of dialogue, research and outside consultation. Our LCNB team raised over $10,000 and the organization matched our funding to:
Conduct an archeological survey to identify significant cultural sites on four potential sites under consideration for natural burial.
Consult with land conservation and natural burial consultants to develop a detailed assessment of financial and legal responsibilities associated with establishing a burial area in their specific location.
Hire an attorney with funerary/mortuary law experience to assess MN legal statutes and potential barriers for this organization.
Though their Board of Directors continues to be interested in the possibility of conservation burial on the land they steward, it was assessed that they do not have the resources to initiate this project at this time.
Our next steps
The land:
We are looking at locations in the Twin Cities metro area to identify possible sites for a conservation burial ground.
The partners:
Because a conservation burial ground is a special kind of natural burial ground that operates in partnership with an established conservation organization or land trust, we are exploring partnership options and building relationships with local conservation organizations.
Education and community-building:
We give regular presentations about natural burial options, and this outreach will remain important to us as we continue to build community around natural death care in the Twin Cities.
Image above used with kind permission from Donelle Dreese and the Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary