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Examples of prairie ecosystems.
Cemeteries as Guardians Of
Our Nation's Natural Heritage
Editor's note: This is the second in a periodic column about Audubon International projects that cemeteries are using to save money, improve resource management, generate positive publicity, reach out to their communities and offer families unique opportunities for memorialization.
by Peter Bronski
Few people would dispute that cemeteries are indeed "guardians of our nation's heritage" -- places where our history, our loved ones and our memories are memorialized in a cultural gesture of remembrance. But cemeteries are more than guardians; they are themselves a part of our nation's heritage. They influence, are influenced by and are integrated within our heritage as much as they protect and guard it.
In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in "The Scarlet Letter" that "The founders of a new colony ... have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery."
Cemeteries are a fundamental part of society, of human nature and even of nature itself. Cemeteries play a valuable ecological role, one that makes cemeteries guardians of our nation's natural heritage as well as of our cultural and social heritage.
For an example we can look back to the 19th century of Hawthorne. During that era, one of America's great ecosystems, the tallgrass prairie of the Midwest, nearly disappeared. This dramatic grassland of big bluestem and Indian grass was subjugated to the plow as agriculture expanded and took over the region.
Today the tallgrass prairie is referred to almost exclusively in the past tense; as an environment that was but is no longer. There is, however, one notable exception to this rule. One can still find remnants of tallgrass prairie in small, isolated patches on old cemeteries.
Those early cemeteries became, in effect, guardians of a "portion of the virgin soil," preventing the disappearance of an American ecosystem.
The connections between cemetery, land and nature was captured with poetic style and grace by Henry David Thoreau, one of the great American nature writers and philosophers. In "Autumnal Hints," written in1862, he wrote: "When the leaves fall, the whole earth is a cemetery pleasant to walk in. ...There is room enough here. The loosestrife shall bloom and the huckleberry-bird sing over your bones. ... Let us walk in the cemetery of the leaves; this is your true Greenwood Cemetery."
Every Cemetery Can Help
Every cemetery has an opportunity to be its own "true Greenwood Cemetery," to embrace the natural heritage of its region, whether it be prairie, woodland, desert or hillside, in a spirit of guardianship. The steps are simple:
- select native, indigenous plant species for landscaping and tree plantings;
- protect natural areas from unnecessary disturbance and development; and
- selectively remove exotic invasive plant species that threaten the ecological integrity of your local environment.
By making a commitment to guarding the natural heritage of your cemetery and your community, you are preserving the health and integrity of your natural environment, and also offering a more genuine "homecoming" for those who make their final resting place your cemetery.
Where headstones, monuments and mausoleums stand to memorialize individual persons, so too can entire cemeteries stand as living testaments to the natural heritage of a region.
Peter Bronski is staff ecologist for Audubon International's Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Cemeteries. He can be reached at pbronski@audubonintl.org or (518) 767-9051, ext. 24.
Peter Bronski is a freelance writer and a staff ecologist for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Cemeteries. He can be reached at (518) 767-9051, ext. 24.
For more information about the ACSP for Cemeteries, contact:
Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Cemeteries
Audubon International
46 Rarick Road
Selkirk, NY 12158
Phone: 518-767-9051 x12
Email: acss@audubonintl.org
Related stories:
Quiet Sanctuaries for Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow With Audubon International's help, White Haven Memorial Park practices environmental stewardship.
A Natural Sanctuary Roselawn Cemetery welcomes wildlife and people.
Copyright ICFA 2003
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