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Michelle Vesser has been an End-of-Life Doula since 2017. She leads “Living into Dying” Retreats to groups to explore and transform our relationship with death. This essay of Michelle’s personal experiences with death, along with her instructions on how to provide bedside support at the time of dying and death, was originally written for the…
Sacred Groves’ progress featured in North Coast Journal cover story The following article, originally published in the North Coast Journal on Dec 11, 2025, marks a milestone towards establishing our green burial project in the Kneeland Hills, and shares how Sacred Groves was created out of a simple idea: that when a person dies, their…
What is human composting? Human composting, scientifically known as Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), is an eco-friendly end-of-life process that transforms human remains into nutrient-dense soil. The body is placed in a specialized, reusable vessel filled with organic materials like wood chips, alfalfa, and straw. Over the span of 8 to 12 weeks, the combination of…
Green Burials: At the End of Life, Thinking Outside the Coffin – The New York Times
An article in the North Coast Journal about green burial developments. Load the PDF or find it here.
“I wanna go back to this sweet earth when my time comes to go…”“Don’t pickle me or char my skin, just dig a hole and roll me in.”
Conservation burial is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional burial practices that helps protect and preserve natural areas. Instead of being laid to rest in a conventional cemetery, the deceased is buried in a protected conservation ground, allowing their remains to return to the earth without harmful chemicals or materials naturally. This environmentally-conscious approach provides a…
Link to story on Scientific American Even the smallest burial sites could help conserve natural habitats in agricultural landscapes BY GEMMA CONROY Environment Two weeks after the spring equinox, farmers in China’s Hebei province pay a visit to deceased loved ones in tiny graveyards among the vast wheat fields to mark Qingming Jie, an annual festival…
https://naturalendings.co.uk/resources/funeral-poetry Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep Do not stand at my grave and weepI am not there.I do not sleep.I am a thousand winds that blow.I am the diamond glints on snow.I am the sunlight on ripened grain.I am the gentle autumn’s rain.When you awaken in the morning’s hush,I am the swift…
A short imagined encounter with a sentient, talking soil. Topsoil metaphors with varied appeal. Fundament Wonder