Glossary

Speak the Language of Natural Burial

Originally sourced from the Green Burial Council and the Conservation Burial Alliance and added to for clarity

ADAPTED VEGETATION
Non-invasive, beneficial plants (not noxious weeds) that have adapted to the specific locality; provide habitat and require little or no maintenance.

ARRANGEMENT CONFERENCE
A meeting, either at-need or pre-need, between the Burial Ground and an individual or family during which burial right purchases and services are discussed.

AT-NEED
At the time of, or immediately following, death.

BACK COUNTRY
A remote, undeveloped area, intentionally preserved as wilderness to provide intact habitat for wildlife. While it may be accessible on foot, it is not maintained via trails or other access routes and is categorized in land management plans as a protected ecosystem.

BASELINE DOCUMENT
A report that describes the existing, pre-development environmental conditions of a site.

BENEFICIARY
One who benefits, such as a person for whom a prepaid contract is entered into, or the successor-in-interest of a life insurance policy.

BEST PRACTICES
A professional method or procedure, accepted or prescribed as being the most effective way to achieve stated goals. Established techniques or methodologies that, through experience and research, have proven to lead to a desired result. Also known as best management practices.

BIODEGRADABLE
Items that can break down into natural materials in the environment without causing harm and are capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.

BURIAL CONTAINERS
Caskets and shrouds capable of being decomposed or biodegraded by bacteria or other living organisms; often made of plant or animal fiber (wicker, sea grass, paper, linen, cotton, wool, willow, bamboo, etc.). Metals, glues, resins, plastics and other synthetics are non-biodegradable.

BURIAL DENSITY
The size, depth, ratio, and distance of burial plots from each other in an acre of a cemetery. Green burial plots are typically larger than conventional burial plots and are determined by terrain.

BURIAL GROUND ENDOWMENT
The Burial Ground’s irrevocable trust fund created in accordance with New Hampshire state law, the purpose of which is to generate income to fund the care and maintenance of the Burial Ground.

BURIAL RIGHT, RIGHT TO INTERMENT
The right to be buried in the ground at a burial ground or cemetery. Purchasers may receive a paper that looks like a deed, but the right to interment is what purchasers are actually buying, not real estate.

BURIAL GROUND, CEMETERY, AND PRESERVE
Burial ground, cemetery, and preserve are all different names used in relation to conservation burial grounds.

BURIAL PLOT
The space in which a body is buried.

CARRYING CAPACITY
The number of people, animals, or crops which a region can support without environmental degradation.

CONSERVATION
The act of preserving, protecting, or restoring the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife.

CONSERVATION BURIAL GROUND
A type of natural cemetery that is established in partnership with a conservation organization and includes a conservation management plan that upholds best practices, and provides perpetual protection of the land according to a conservation easement or deed restriction.

CONSERVATION EASEMENT
Conservation easements are voluntary, legal agreements between a landowner and a land trust (or government agency) that permanently limits the uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values.

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
A working plan that is a tool for identifying and implementing the practices needed to properly manage a conservation property.

CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES
Conservation objectives seek to identify values of the land that are important to preserving and restoring native habitat, hosting species, watersheds, and other defining features that support ecological, biological, and human communities.

CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS
Nonprofits and governmental entities organized to acquire, monitor, and manage land, rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management.

CONSERVATION POLICIES
Set of internal rules aimed at conserving or restoring a declining species, a community, an ecosystem, or a natural or semi-natural site.

CONSERVATION VALUES
Evaluation of a property for its conservation features and resources—such as wildlife and plant habitat, connectivity, water quality, working lands—that deserve preservation or protection through deliberate action.

CONTIGUOUS
Sharing a common border; touching.

CREMATED REMAINS BURIAL
The interment in the earth of the pulverized bone and durables residue from a cremation process.

CREMATION
The irreversible process of reducing human remains to bone fragments through intense heat and evaporation, customarily done in a specifically designed furnace or retort, which may include any other mechanical, chemical or thermal process whereby human bone fragments are pulverized or otherwise further reduced in size and quantity.

CULTURAL RESOURCES
Historic, scenic, and recreational assets of significant value, such as: evidence of early cellar holes, barns, outbuildings, orchards, agricultural buildings or artifacts, or recreational structures; vista views, water frontage, unique natural features, or sky views; logging or other forestry or agricultural roads or pathways for walking or hiking. [See Natural Resources Inventory]

DECEDENT
The dead person.

DEED RESTRICTION
Deed restrictions are private agreements listed in the deed that restrict the use of the land.

DISINTERMENT
The act of removing human remains from an interment space for the purpose of relocating the remains or for forensic purposes as ordered by the State.

ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
EcIAs provide information, guidance, and support for changes in land management regarding agricultural, forestry, and other activities; may be conducted on its own or as part of a broader environmental assessment that identifies and evaluates the possible impact on ecosystems and assists in formulating plans that ensure best biodiversity outcomes. [See Best Management Practices]

ECOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES
Ecological objectives seek to understand the nature of environmental influences on individual organisms, their populations, and communities. Ecological objectives are the measurable actions that support realization of stated ecological goals.

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PLAN
A published list and description of where and how planting and other land mediation efforts will be conducted, complete with mapped locations and approved plant materials.

ENCASEMENT
The placement of human remains in a container, such as a casket, shroud, or urn.

ENDEMIC
Refers to a species whose natural range is restricted to a particular area.

ENDOWMENT FUND
Funds required by most states for long-term cemetery maintenance; some cemeteries call these “perpetual care” funds, “care and maintenance trust funds,” or “long-term restoration” funds.

EXCAVATION
The act of digging a grave.

FIELDSTONE
A naturally formed stone harvested directly from the earth on or near the cemetery property; they may be engraved, left in their natural form on a grave surface, and not polished or set in footings.

FINAL DISPOSITION
The lawful disposal of human remains.

FLORA
The plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.

FULL BODY BURIAL
Burial in the earth of an entire human body.

GEOLOGY
The branch of science that deals with the history of the earth, especially as recorded in rocks.

GRAVE
An area of ground in the Burial Ground established for the burial of human remains in the ground.

GRAVE DECORATION
Items placed or arranged to enhance the appearance of the grave. Site appropriate native plantings are not considered decoration, but help fulfill grieving families’ need to “leave a mark” that makes the grave prettier. However, true grave decorations that do not fit in with a natural aesthetic  are discouraged (some conservation burial sites do not allow them at all). This includes coping (surrounding the grave with an oval of stone), holiday decorations, beer or liquor bottles, framed photos, etc. Cut flowers are encouraged, but not those that contain invasive seeds. Other acceptable grave decorations include transient items such as bird nests, etc.

GRAVE LINER
An outer burial container that only covers the top and side of the casket, usually made of plastic, fiberglass, or metal. [See Outer Burial Container]

GREEN BURIAL
A way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat. Green burial necessitates the use of non-toxic and biodegradable materials, such as caskets, shrouds, and urns.

GREEN BURIAL GROUND
Green burial ground or a green burial cemetery is a generalized term often used synonymously with natural burial ground.

HUMAN REMAINS
The body of a deceased human being in any stage of decomposition, including cremated remains.

HYBRID BURIAL GROUND
A cemetery that allows vaults and offers green burial.

HYDROLOGY
The branch of science concerned with the properties of the earth's water, and especially its movement in relation to land.

INTERMENT
The final disposition of human remains in the Burial Ground by burial.

INTERMENT RIGHT
The right to place human remains in interment space, subject to these rules and regulations.

INTERMENT SERVICES
The process of interring human remains, including but not limited to administrative, clerical, legal, mechanical and physical services performed by Burial Ground personnel in conjunction with the opening of an interment space in preparation for the interment and the subsequent closing of the interment space after the interment.

INTERMENT SPACE
A space that has been established by the Burial Ground for the final disposition of human remains.

INVASIVE PLANTS
Plants that grow so profusely that they take over. Usually not native, though there are some natives which can take over in areas that have been altered. Being non-native does not mean that a plant is invasive.

LANDSCAPING
In the context of conservation burial should focus on ecological restoration and eco-revelatory design. To the extent possible, infrastructure should be green. Plant material should be site appropriate in terms of habitat and locale, with a focus on local cultivars.

MEMORIALIZATION
The process of honoring the dead by marking where a burial has taken place; can include an engraved headstone or stone monument with a written account of the person being commemorated, a QR code, a photo, object, or in the case of a green or natural burial, a fieldstone, wooden bench, tree, shrub, or sculptural art using natural materials. Memorialization in conservation burial grounds is minimal, consists of natural materials, and preferably those derived from the conserved property.

MEMORIAL MARKERS
Memorials/grave markers in conservation burial can be live as in memorial vegetation; inert as in stones, benches or naming opportunities; or virtual memorials based on GPS that provides more than names and dates. These memorials can be site specific to the graves themselves or at some distance (as in a cenotaph or memorial wall with names inscribed). In all cases, the memorials should not detract from a natural aesthetic, and if possible should be ecologically functional and appropriate to the ecological and geological context.

MONITORING
The act of observing, checking, or keeping a continuous record of something. Easement monitoring is conducted on a scheduled basis to observe the condition of the conservation easement property to determine whether it is in compliance with easement terms.

NATIVE PLANTS
Plants that are indigenous to a specific habitat. Native plants include those species understood as indigenous, occurring in natural associations in habitats that existed prior to significant human impacts and alterations of the landscape.

NATURAL BURIAL GROUND
A type of cemetery that allows full body interment in the ground, without embalming, using a biodegradable container, and without a grave liner or vault. Cremated remains and pet remains? may be accepted in natural burial grounds.

NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY
A document that inventories the natural resources of an area, collects the data in a usable format and interprets the findings. Natural resource inventories provide solid baseline data for long-term monitoring and management and allow for comparisons between existing and desired conditions.

OUTER BURIAL CONTAINER
An outer burial container is either a burial vault or a grave liner that encases a casket or shrouded body. Both are used to support the soil around the casket from subsidence in most non-green burial cemeteries to minimize cemetery maintenance by keeping the lawn flat for mowing. [See Vault and Grave Liner]

OWNER
The person who lawfully possesses an interment right and whose name is recorded as such in the Burial Ground’s records.

PRE-NEED
Prior to the beneficiary’s death.

PURCHASE AGREEMENT
A contract pursuant to which the Burial Ground agrees to sell and deliver interment rights and/or services.

RESTORATION ECOLOGY
The practice of renewing, restoring, or assisting in the recovery and management of degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitat. Restoration cemeteries may have areas in need of environmental restoration of plant systems, or need supplementation to provide optimum habitat for wildlife to restore the proper balance to the ecosystem within and surrounding the burial ground. Along with improving biodiversity, restoration ecology also involves developing sustainable cultural practices and providing regional and historical context.

RIGHT OF INTERMENT
The term “right of interment” or "burial right" means the document issued by the Burial Ground to convey the right to bury human remains subject to these rules and regulations.

SECOND RIGHT OF INTERMENT
The right to inter cremated remains in the grave of an initial full body at the time of burial for a separate fee.

SECTION
An area within the Burial Ground consisting of more than one interment space established by the Burial Ground as a subdivision for organizational purposes, e.g., The Meadow or The Grove.

URN
A receptacle in which cremated remains are placed for final disposition. In a green or natural burial, urns are biodegradable containers.

VAULT
A container made of concrete, plastic or metal, that encloses a coffin or casket to help prevent a grave from sinking and provide some protection from the elements. The vault is installed into the grave. At the burial, the casket is placed inside the vault and sealed. Generally, outer burial containers are not required by state or local laws, but they are oftentimes required by conventional cemeteries to prevent the grave from collapse due to heavy maintenance equipment and ground settling. Also known as burial vault, grave vault, cemetery vault. [See Outer Burial Container]

WEEDS
A weed is a plant that is not valued where it is growing. It usually is known to have vigorous growth and can be native or non-native.

XERISCAPING
Landscaping that conserves water by using plants with low water needs, soil amendments that retain moisture, and mulching to reduce evaporation; intended to eliminate or greatly reduce artificial irrigation. [See Landscaping]