Islander Sheri Reder’s background in public health and health communications led her to eventually direct a Veterans Administration project on long-term care choices, covering the process of dying and death. It later occurred to her that she had not thought through a lot of her own end-of-life options.

“As many members of my generation, I had assumed I would be cremated,” Reder wrote in an email to The Beachcomber, “but, as I started to explore the topic further, I realized that was not what I wanted. Natural burial emerged as a more peaceful approach for me; more in tune with my beliefs.”

Now, Reder, a citizens advocate for the Vashon Cemetery District, is spearheading efforts through a committee to get a “green burial” cemetery on the island. The concept is one that does not involve all of the traditional elements of a cemetery, enabling a more environmentally-friendly place for the deceased to rest — and it’s a concept that is trending nationally.

Reder and the district’s commissioners are all in support of a “green burial” cemetery, which, they stress, would not replace the traditional one that’s been on the island for years.

The question now is finding property that meets all the criteria with King County, which is supportive of the “green burial” concept. Reder has not been shy about asking community members for their suggestions on “the perfect site” for the cemetery.

The idea for a “green” cemetery

Vashon Cemetery District Commissioner Lisa Devereau said she has long been in support of natural burial; she just did not have the time to devote herself to making it happen.

“So when Sheri came along, I figured, ‘Ok, we’ll see,’” she said. “Lo and behold, not only did she do the footwork — she’s actually started a committee and she’s getting it done. I’m thrilled that Sheri took it on. Someone that really wants to see this happen is going to see it through.”

The committee includes all three cemetery district commissioners, in addition to officials with the county and the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust are also on the committee, which has been meeting since late last year.

“The commissioners aren’t voting on anything; we’re just listening to the planning process,” Devereau said. “It will all come to a vote. Any votes that have to take place would happen at the regular cemetery board meetings.”

Before a “green burial” cemetery can go up for a full board vote, she said, land that meets King County’s requirements would have to be found.

“There’s some options out there, but there’s nothing that’s perfect — who knows if we’ll ever find perfect,” Devereau said.

There is no time limit to find land, she added.

“I know a lot of people want a green cemetery … so help us find the property,” Devereau said.

Potential land

David Kimmett, project/program manager for King County Parks’ Open Space and Natural Lands Program, has been working with Reder and members of the natural burial committee on Vashon to find an appropriate site for a green burial cemetery.

“A lot of work that I do on Vashon and in other parts of the county is community engagement,” he said. “We are the local government for Vashon Island, so if there is a citizen group that wants to put a green burial site on the island, and they’ve reached out to us for our help and support, then we’re going to step up and help and support them; that’s what we do.”

Regarding how land for a green burial cemetery could come about, Kimmett believes there are four scenarios.

One is finding a site on land the county already owns, though he does not believe there anything it has that is “appropriate.”

Given that, there is a second scenario, which would involve land the county could acquire or own and enter into an operations agreement with the cemetery district, Kimmett said.

The third scenario involves a land owner retaining ownership while the county enters into a conservation easement with them.

The fourth scenario would be if the cemetery district works out its own agreement with a private landowner to use it for a green burial cemetery.

Compared to other cities in the county, Kimmett noted that Vashon’s uniqueness as the only place with a cemetery district.

“The cemetery district is very supportive of this and willing to operate such a facility. I think that’s a very critical distinction,” he said. “It’s not something that Parks or King County would operate … but we do have a willing operator in the cemetery district. That’s what makes this a really nice government-King County-community project.”

According to Kimmett and Reder, land for a green burial cemetery would have to meet eight different characteristics, including having more than five acres of land that is relatively flat in a meadow; an access road and parking; and compatibility with neighbors.

“Finding the right site is challenging; we have to check all of those boxes,” Kimmett said.

Reasons for natural burial

In discussing characteristics of a green burial cemetery, Reder pointed to the Green Burial Council, a national group dedicated to “environmentally sustainable, natural death care.”

The central trails of these cemeteries, which can be found throughout the U.S., including in Washington, involves not using vaults, traditional caskets or headstones and no embalming for the body, according to the council’s website. Instead, bodies are placed in urns or biodegradable containers or non-native stone markers in place of headstones.

Lee Webster, a spokesman for the Green Burial Council, told The Beachcomber there are numerous benefits that occur during natural burial.

“[The body’s] nutrients become available to plant life, micro-organisms, and insects, and that activity goes nowhere but up the mycorrhizae chain to deliver those nutrients to the top soil horizon, feeding plant life,” he wrote. “Impeding this process with metal caskets and concrete vaults creates an anaerobic decomposition that benefits nothing.

The council argues that a natural burial would be far less carbon-emitting than a traditional one.

“I believe the difference is in creating carbon burden … as opposed to creating next to none by foregoing all of those carbon-heavy processes,” Webster wrote. “It’s not just about putting a body in the ground; it’s about the cumulative effect of doing business as usual.”

King County has one green burial cemetery: Cedar Lawns Memorial Park in Redmond, which uses a hybrid between a traditional and green burial methods. The state has four other green burial cemeteries besides the one in Redmond.

Though it remains to be seen if Vashon-Maury Island will get its own green burial spot, that’s not stopping islanders like Reder and members of the cemetery district from touting the reasons for having it.

“Natural burial is an option that is in agreement with the ecological and preservation of open space values of many Islanders,” Reder said.

Devereau is in support of a “green burial” cemetery because she believes it’s in popular demand on the island. The concept is also closer to the ways cemeteries were operated long ago, she added.

Concrete liners are used to keep cemetery properties level, not because they’re required by law, according to Devereau.

“It’s really a cemetery rule to keep the ground from sinking,” she said.

But modern day rules like that do not outweigh the benefits that can come from natural burial, Devereau said.

“People want to go back to a more natural, less damage to the environment,” she said. “Why not? If we can leave less carbon footprint, we should be doing that.”

What’s more, Devereau said a natural burial cemetery reflects the fact that people want more options when it comes to their after-life options.

“It’s not saying one’s better than the other or one’s worse than the other — it’s more (about) meeting more people’s needs,” she said.

“I don’t think there’s any scientific reason why it’s not okay,” Devereau said. “I think people have made death more palatable by liners and fancy caskets and embalming, but I don’t think there’s anything scientifically wrong with how it was done in the beginning.”

Devereau, who is a native on the island who grew up on the same road the cemetery is on — aptly named “Cemetery Road” — did not outright dismiss the traditional island burial spot she oversees. She said it has less rules than “big city” cemeteries; is cheaper than other places and allows for more planting by community members.

Devereau had a message for islanders who might not be sold on the idea of natural burial.

“It’s a safe alternative to chemicals and concrete,” she said. “So, it’s a better answer for our environment.”

Devereau noted the law Gov. Jay Inslee signed last year that allows people to be composted into soil as opposed to being buried or cremated. Even though that is not what a Vashon natural burial cemetery would allow, Devereau said, it is somewhat related to the emergence of “green” burials.

“The death industry’s changing,” she said.

Editor’s note: a shorter version of this article appeared in the feb. 6 edition of The Beachcomber.