forest restoration

Penn Forest Presents at Mother Earth News Fair

Posted on by higherimages
On September 21, Pete McQuillin gave an inspiring presentation about Green Burial at the Mother Earth News Fair.  Mother Earth News Fair is held annually in Seven Springs, PA and among the topics were forest restoration, the potential to use the land for more than just burials, and much more!  You can click here to view the slideshow of the presentation.
Mother Earth News Fair 2012 Penn Forest

 

Looking for education or more information about green burial for your group or organization?  The folks at Penn Forest are available to give education presentations about green burial and forest restoration.  Contact us for next steps.

Friends

Posted on by Pete McQuillin

Since we had our picnic on June 9th, I’ve had several people tell me how much they felt at home with the Penn Forest crowd—like they’d been friends for years. Comments like these have led me to reflect on my 4-1/2 years working on this project and how all these new friends have enriched my life.

Friends at Penn ForestI’m 67 years old. Before I started working on green burial—starting this woodland cemetery—my friends were few and close. Now, I can easily count more than 100 people I like to spend time with, and the list keeps growing.

Why is this? What is it about green burial advocates that I like?

Well, they’re people who try to walk gently on the earth. Like me, they like the outdoors and the woods. Like me, they think green burial and forest restoration are important for the future of the planet. But it’s more than that.

In short, I would say they are kind and caring. They want to be nice to others. To help, instead of harm. Nice folks.

So, now that we’re coming up on our one-year anniversary of getting our cemetery license next month, I want to say to everyone, “Thank you for your friendship.”

Friends among the trees

Friends discussing green burial

Young friend at Penn Forest

Youngster at Penn Forest

Maritza at Penn Forest

Pete McQuillin at Penn Forest

Post written by Pete McQuillin | June 25, 2012

Green Burial is the Way to Go

Posted on by Pete McQuillin

Green Burial is the way to go.

Nancy Chubb came up with that catchy slogan. We were so taken with it; we had it made into a bumper sticker. If you’d like one, just let me know by sending me an email at pete@pennforestcemetery.com.

But why is green burial the way to go?

Embalming is a brutal way to treat a body (See Mark Harris’ book, Grave Matters, Chapter 1 to see why). It deposits about 2 gallons of toxic formaldehyde into each body, which leaks out of the coffin and flows into our watersheds. (I learned last year that measurements taken outside a local cemetery revealed a steady stream of formaldehyde flowing out into the Monongahela River here in Pittsburgh).

Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately:

Green Burial is a Genuine Alternative

Conventional cemeteries have a large energy footprint used to mow lawns, trim shrubs and trees and the fertilizers they use pollute.

Green burial does away with most of these negatives. Coffins are biodegradable. The bodies decompose naturally and fertilize forest plants. No toxic embalming fluids are used. Concrete and steel burial vaults are barred.Cremation uses fissile fuels, pollutes the air and contributes to global warming.

But the real key is forest restoration. Forests provide evaporative cooling to fight global warming. They take pollution from the air. They help preserve threatened plants and animals. And they provide recreation for the public.

In addition to being an environment-friendly practice, the income from green burials can be used to pay for the costs of restoring the cemetery forest, which is what we’re doing at Penn Forest Natural Burial Park. So, yes, green burial is the way to go.  What do you think?

If you’re not yet on our email list, click here: Join My Mailing List and make sure you add my email address (pete@penforestcemetery.com) to your address book, so our emails don’t go to your junk mail folder. If you are on the list, please forward our newsletters and emails to everyone you know and ask them to join too.

Thanks for your help.

Pete

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