City cemetery now offers green burial

Winnipeggers now have a greener way to be laid to rest.

The city’s Brookside Cemetery has opened the first natural burial area in Manitoba that is certified by the Green Burial Society of Canada, where residents can ensure they are buried with the least environmental impact possible.

The option was added due to increased demand, said Brett Shenback, the city’s cemeteries administrator.

“We’ve had an increased number of inquiries over the last three or four years from folks who are looking for just a more environmentally friendly option and a way to return their bodies back to the earth as naturally as possible,” said Shenback.

Years ago, the cemeteries branch received one or two calls a year asking for the option, which increased over time to one or two calls a month, then an almost weekly basis, he said.

The natural burials must follow set principles. Bodies must not be embalmed and be buried directly into the earth (or with biodegradable caskets or shrouds) and have simple memorials. The natural sites must be efficiently used, while restoring and conserving the environment.

While individual headstones are not allowed, families can place a plaque on a communal memorial.

The measures are meant to protect the land and allow a body to break down naturally into the earth.

Brookside’s natural burial section is contained within about half an acre of land along Omand’s Creek. Native grasses, wildflowers, and trees were planted on the site last year.

Thanks to a grant from Trees Canada, there was little added cost to create the space, said Shenback.

“The site is naturalized … We’re going to leave the site to evolve over time with as little disturbance as possible,” he said.

The practice, which is also known as green burial, carries a cost of $2,470 per plot, which matches the city cemetery price for conventional plots, and an “opening and closing charge” of $1,650, Shenback said. The latter cost is a little higher than the basic fee due to increased labour required to restore vegetation after a burial, he said.

Shenback said the city intends to avoid disturbing the land, generally not even mowing it, to leave the site “as natural as possible in perpetuity.”

The city began offering the option last week. The site currently has 130 burial spaces, though there’s room for future expansion, said Shenback.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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