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One of the bluebird nest boxes installed at White Haven
Memorial Park to help these beautiful native American birds
whose habitat has been declining.
Quiet Sanctuaries for Yesterday,
Today and Tomorrow
"In a changing world worthy institutions can be conserved only by adjusting them to the changing times." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by Peter Bronski
While Roosevelt was not specifically addressing cemeteries, what institution is more worthy than a cemetery? Roosevelt's words offer valuable guidance for an industry faced with a changing world.
Cemeteries are one of the great societal constants. Like the town hall, local barber, school, or church or synagogue, cemeteries are cornerstones of their communities. It seems they have always been there and there is an expectation they always will be. But in these times of flux and transition, some question what role cemeteries will play in the future. How can cemetery managers ensure the longevity and vitality of their industry? When society has shifted and settled on a new status quo, where will cemeteries fit into the framework?
Clearly, this is an important time to redefine the cemetery's place in society. Enhancing the traditional roles of cemeteries as well as developing innovative ways of thinking about cemeteries and burials will be vital for ensuring a sustainable future for the cemetery industry.
"We need to think outside of the box with how we do burials and how we manage our cemeteries," says Andrea Vittum, CCE, president and CEO of White Haven Memorial Park in Pittsford, New York. Thinking outside the box means valuing cemeteries as more than simply the final resting places of the deceased.
Monika Jorg, public relations manager for Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio, agrees, "Cemeteries are for the living to enjoy." Spring Grove, which was founded by a horticultural society, retains a park-like atmosphere for quiet contemplation. Its 733 acres are the only green space in the industrial Mill Creek Valley, in the heart of a major shopping area. Businesspersons and the general public alike stroll through Spring Grove to enjoy the fresh air, and walking clubs regularly tour the grounds.
"Treating cemeteries as parkland is something we need to promote," says Vittum. "They are green spaces in an otherwise asphalt jungle." White Haven, for its part, is working on enhancing its reputation as an educational and recreational resource for the community.
Welcoming Wildlife
With rampant development in many urban and suburban areas, cemeteries function as islands of green space, not only as parklands for people, but also as habitat for wildlife. Left with fewer and fewer choices, wildlife are turning to cemeteries as places to call home.
Bluebirds hatched at White Haven Memorial Park.
White Haven, which has 80 acres of habitat available for development as full ground burials, is creating a master plan that takes into account the different types of habitat on the property. "We want to be sure to maintain a portion of each type and link habitats together for wildlife," explains Vittum. "We are very much convinced it will be a financial benefit for the cemetery. We may lose a few acres to full ground burials, but the improvement in quality of experience will be enormous."
More than merely protecting habitat for the benefit of wildlife, innovative cemetery managers are going a step further and blending habitats with new burial styles. White Haven is a classic case-in-point. They are building a nature trail through wooded natural areas with cremation burials along the trail.
Plans call for a 6,000-foot-long trail with one burial per linear foot. That will accommodate at least 12,000 burials (with one on each side of the trail), or more than 24,000 if they choose to use double rows. It's a plan that will preserve wildlife habitat while at the same time offering the cemetery an opportunity to increase its financial bottom line more than if the trees were chopped down to allow full ground burials.
Vittum says natural areas can add value to cemeteries in other ways. "There is an opportunity to charge more for burials at the edge of woods or a stream," she said. "Even though you lose acreage that would have been dedicated to full ground burials, you can make the same amount of money with a better looking cemetery. If we don't provide these types of choices, people will look elsewhere. It is in cemeteries' best interest to innovate burial styles. Nature is what people want-it sells."
Help for Cemeteries
Give the people nature and they will come-it's a simple enough concept. But for the individual cemetery manager, figuring out exactly how to accomplish this can lead to many unanswered questions. Fortunately, help is available through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Cemeteries. Administered by Audubon International, this independent, nonprofit organization promotes environmental stewardship and sustainability through education and conservation assistance programs.
The ACSP for Cemeteries helps cemetery managers find ways to enhance wildlife habitat, conserve natural resources such as water and energy, reduce waste and enhance their property's role as a community asset through public outreach and education.
A sign at White Haven Memorial Park informs visitors
that the property is an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary,
managed with wildlife and environmental quality in mind.
White Haven was the first cemetery in the country to become fully certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. "The program has been very beneficial for us," Vittum says. "It emphasizes a two-fold approach-one that is good for the cemetery and good for the environment." The cemetery's involvement with the ACSP was the cover story of the December 1998 issue of International Cemetery and Funeral Management magazine, and since that article appeared, White Haven's Audubon program has become a model for others to follow.
"We have received some excellent publicity from our involvement," Vittum says, "and also learned a lot of ways to help the environment. The projects were fun for our employees, appealing to our visitors, and cost-saving for us."
For example, White Haven implemented an integrated pest management protocol for grub control on its 80 acres of mowed lawn area. As a result, its cost for grub control decreased by more than $3,500 per year, a reduction of 50 percent. White Haven also began a mulching and composting program for its holiday wreath and floral waste. This simple project prevented over 1,400 wreaths from ending up in landfill and eliminated two to three dumpster-loads of floral waste per year at a cost savings of $150 per load.
White Haven also formed a Resource Advisory Committee made up of cemetery staff, community members and local experts. Committee members helped identify wildlife on the property, installed nest boxes for birds and designed a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
"The ACSP for Cemeteries helps you make more out of your cemetery," Vittum says. "It can be a park, a learning center, an opportunity to partner with schools."
Creating a Community Asset
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, a recently certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, has made the most of its involvement with the program as well, adding to the property's value as a community asset while improving environmental management.
Grounds Manager Mark Funke implemented an innovative water conservation program through a system that captures runoff from buildings, driveways, roads and lawn areas and reuses this water to irrigate turf, flower beds and other natural areas. Seventy-five percent of the irrigation supply comes from this captured surface runoff, which drains into a central cistern. Now, with plans for the construction of a new road and mausoleum, which will also drain to the cistern, Spring Grove expects to double or even triple the amount of runoff it captures.
While Funke's water conservation efforts largely take place behind the scenes, Spring Grove also makes sure people know that the cemetery and arboretum are available as a community and environmental resource. Schoolchildren visit and observe wildlife; local Scout troops build and mount nest boxes; and Jorg introduces visitors of all ages to the apiary, giving them a lesson in the important role bees play in the Spring Grove environment.
Jorg credits the ACSP for Cemeteries with helping make Spring Grove known as a quiet sanctuary for area residents. "The ACSP generates public awareness for the importance of maintaining green space. The community never knew all that we had to offer," says Jorg. "Now not only have we reached the public and introduced them to the wealth of treasures at Spring Grove, but we have also encouraged them to come back and use our property as a resource."
Nearby Oak Hill Cemetery, which is managed by Spring Grove, also encourages people to use its 160-acre property as a resource. A printed guide to woody plants and 140 labeled trees educate visitors, and a local garden club helps plant a perennial flower garden.
Cemetery managers today are charged with not only providing traditional funeral and burial services but also being proactive members of their communities and responsible stewards of their land. By bringing together their cemeteries, nature and the community, innovative managers are redefining what the cemetery means to society. They are improving their businesses' bottom line, protecting the environment and enhancing their roles and reputations in the community.
The cemetery of today can ensure its place as a cemetery of tomorrow by taking simple proactive steps to enhance its role as a quiet sanctuary-for the deceased, for the living and for wildlife. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Cemeteries, for its part, is an able and willing partner to help cemeteries make the transition.
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:
A Natural Sanctuary Roselawn Cemetery welcomes wildlife and people.
Cemeteries as guardians of our nation's natural heritage Cemeteries set aside by early settlers preserve small pockets of the original Midwest tallgrass prairie devastated by 19th century agriculture.
Copyright ICFA 1998
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