There are a lot of elements that need to be considered if you are thinking about a natural burial:

Long term security

One of the most important is to know what the long-term plans are for the future of the site once the current owner / operator is no longer in a position to run it. We recommend asking your chosen site operator for details about the long-term security of the site and any provision being made for future maintenance.

Is it right for you?

Have a look at the website before you go to check what your local site permits, and to get a feel for the values of the site owners / operators. While websites aren’t always accurate indicators of what a site is actually like, you can often get a feel for whether you’d be happy to bury your relative there by just looking at the pages of the website. 

If there is a natural burial ground in your area and you haven’t been there, we suggest going to visit it to see how it feels before choosing it as the final resting place for you or for someone you love. The vast variety of types of natural burial grounds mean that it is impossible to know exactly what individual sites are like without visiting.

Some are minimal, with no facilities available, others offer yurts or marquees for ceremonies and have compost loos or portaloos on site. Others have ceremonial buildings, offices and state-of-the-art loos; it all depends on the owners and the offering. The pricing will often reflect the facilities available at each site.

Some have staff on site all the time, others will be unattended unless a funeral is taking place, or an appointment has been made to be shown around. Some will provide gazebos and chairs if required, others don’t offer any. 

What are the rules?

Many sites will have their terms and conditions or rules on their website, others only supply them if asked. It’s worth requesting / looking at terms and conditions in advance of making your final decision. 

Most natural burial grounds won’t allow a body that has been embalmed to be buried there unless there are exceptional circumstances, and most insist on a biodegradable coffin rather than a veneered MDF one.

Memorial policy

There will be a policy on memorials at each site – some permit wooden memorials on posts, others allow only tablets laid flat on the ground to enable maintenance of the area. Some have communal memorials, some do not allow any grave markers at all, others permit plaques and benches and memorials on trees. If it is important to you to have a personal marker on the grave and your local site does not allow this, it may not be the right choice for you. It’s also worth looking at the existing memorials already

Can you do everything that you plan?

You might want to consider whether you want the entire funeral ceremony to take place at the burial ground, or whether you want to choose a venue elsewhere for a ceremony and then bring the coffin to the burial ground just for the burial. The facilities available and also the time of year / weather conditions may have some bearing on your decision.

Some sites will allow family and friends to fill in the grave themselves, others will not permit this and insist that a gravedigger does this. Some insist that a funeral director is employed rather than clients doing all the organisation themselves.

Most sites will allow dogs on a lead to attend burials and accompany visitors, some are less welcoming. If dogs are an important part of your family, it’s definitely worth finding out about the policy of the site before deciding.

Items on graves

Most natural burial grounds have strict policies about leaving tributes or mementoes on graves, but it’s worth checking for yourself whether these policies are being adhered to. 

It can quickly become an issue if items left are allowed to remain, as other people then begin to do the same and leave items on their relatives’ graves. Some sites that began as a very natural landscape end up resembling a municipal cemetery, with flowers and teddies and windchimes all around, which makes them less than natural in appearance.

Trees and planting

A lot of people have a misconception that natural burial = a tree planted on a grave. This romantic idea is easily dismantled when you consider the size of a mature oak or beech tree and understand how woodland creation works. Burial grounds offering tree planting on graves are creating future problems, as trees will need to be coppiced or completely removed. If your nearest natural burial ground is one that does this, ask to see their landscape design plan.

Planting wildflowers or shrubs on graves can accommodate the understandable need that some bereaved people have to make the grave beautiful, or indeed findable. Some natural burial grounds will have a list of suitable species that they allow to be planted which are in keeping with the existing landscape. Generally, hybrid or non-native species are not allowed.