http://www.springgrove.org/
What questions do you have about the cemetery, for the docent?
Funeral industry
* what information can you find about the funeral industry? Include some info about costs, typical arrangements, burial vs. cremation, etc. Work on this part collectively.
Green/alternative funerals
* What information can you find about green funerals? would you want to do that? why or why not?
The average burial costs between $6,000-$9,000 and the average cremation costs between $1,000-$6,000. This website breaks down the costs of a burrial and a cremation:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.angieslist.com/articles/comparing-funeral-costs-burial-vs-cremation.htm.
A green funeral is a funeral that is carried out in a way to not disrupt nature. The caskets are biodegradable and no embalming fluid is used in the body. The method is thought to return our bodies to nature because the bodies degrade in the soil over time. This seems like a very environmentally friendly way to carry out a burial, and I wouldn’t mind being buried using this method. It would be up to my family though of how my burial took place. Anything that would give my family better closer with my death would be fine with me.
I had no idea that being cremated was so much cheaper than having an actual burial. I love that the green funeral is better for the environment and it matches the saying dust to dust you shall return.
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ReplyDeleteA question I have for the docent concerns the cost of being buried at Spring Grove. I've been there before and I know there are many extremely extravagant graves. How much would one of the big grave stones (or castles!) cost when they were originally constructed, and how much would that cost today?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a green funeral. I think I would go for the cheapest casket available with no other bells and whistles. This is why I want to have it all figured out before I die, so my family doesn't feel guilty for not buying all the "extras." After I die, none of that will matter to me, and I'd rather my body return to nature. It reminds me of the phrase Catholics hear every Ash Wednesday: "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."
Katie, when i read over the green funeral i was kind of against it because i always thought of having a fancy casket at my funeral. I couldn't agree more with the green funeral after i read your good point about remembering we are dust and to dust we shall return.
DeleteI would like to be cremated and not buried in a casket when I die. I would not want to a green funeral because I would rather just be cremated and not have my body rot in the soil.
ReplyDeleteTypical arrangements for a funeral involves some sort of religion, spirituality, or celebration of the person's life. A funeral is where the body is present and a memorial service is when the body is not. Funerals can be held in a place of worship. Memorial services and funerals can include elements of a traditional service, including music, flowers, prayers, readings, eulogies, and sermons. Usually after a funeral ceremony there is a celebration of life where there will be food and drinks.
Marisa, i am the complete opposite. being cremated kinda scares me to be honest and i would much rather be buried. I would love to be buried at a place like spring grove.
DeleteWhen I die I don't want my body to be cremated or even buried. I would like my body to be donated to science in some way. If my body could not be donated to science, I guess I would have to go with a green funeral, but only after my organs are donated because I would want to go into nature and be able to help regrow a tree and plants surrounding it. I want my organs to be donated if they can because even though I'm dead I would like to help someone have a long and fulfilling life.
ReplyDeleteMy question for the docent, which is like Katie's, is: Who is the oldest person buried in Spring Grove and do you know how much their burial plot cost when they were buried? Also how much would it cost today?
Yes! I would like all my useful organs to be donated before I'm buried as well. If I can save a life and help the earth with my body, then I'm doing my job as a dead human.
DeleteI love the idea of donating organs. If there is any chance that my organs could save another humans life, i would love to give them the opportunity. Kids suffer from cancer everyday, and if i could be there chance of hope, it would be so rewarding.
DeleteI totally agree with donating organs. I think it is a beautiful way to help others after you have passed.
DeleteAs for the donating your body to science, what made you want to do that? When I think of my body being cut and poked by people, it freaks me out a bit. I totally support donating your body, especially since I am a nursing major, I just dont know if I could do it!!
http://aplus.com/a/Italian-company-creates-eco-friendly-capsules-alternative-to-cemetary
ReplyDeleteI've posted about this before. I absolutely love this idea of having memory forests instead of graveyards. Being about to sit under the tree of a deceased loved one and admiring the beautiful leaves or seeing the sun shine through the branches. Being able to see something alive and beautiful in the place of where your loved one is buried rather than a cold stone is something that just warms me up inside. I've always wanted a simple burial, I never understood the intense spending on a dead body. Everyone dies, why is that something that has to add on to our financial stresses? Is losing someone close not enough stress? I also had a hard time understanding why we bury boxes of people that are going to just rot and turn to dust anyway, is that not cluttering the earth when we could be feeding the earth with our bodies as easy fertilizer? That's one thing I really loved about the Rabi's talk about Jewish burial tradition. The fact that everyone is buried in the same kind of box and no embalming so the body can decompose as quick as possible. I read on beatree.com that more than 100,000 tons of steel, 10 tons of copper and brass, 30,000,000 board feet of hardwood timber, uncounted tons of plastic, vinyl, and fiberglass, and 1.5 million tons of reinforced concrete accompany Americans when they're buried. How ridiculous is that. If being able to be buried as a pod for a tree, I'll take it. Otherwise just bury me like the Jews in a simple wooden box.
http://greenburialcouncil.org/home/what-is-green-burial/
This link talks about cemeteries becoming green burial certified.
When searching for alternative funerals, I came across space burial for any Trekkie fans.
ReplyDeleteIf cryonics sounds too expensive, but you'd still like the afterlife to smack of sci-fi, you can always get some of your ashes shot into space. Your cremated remains will hitch a ride on a rocket already headed for the stars, a journey that is more symbolic than practical: Because of the high cost of spaceflight, only 1 to 7 grams (0.04 to 0.25 ounces) of remains are launched.
According to Celetis Memorial Spaceflights, a company that offers the postmortem flights, a low-orbit journey that lets your cremains experience zero gravity before returning to Earth starts at $995. A chance to orbit Earth and eventually burn up in the atmosphere runs around $3,000. Dedicated space-lovers can have themselves launched to the moon or into deep space for $10,000 and $12,500, respectively.
http://www.livescience.com/15980-death-8-burial-alternatives.html
What are the cemetery and the family of the loved ones obligations for the maintenance of the grave?
ReplyDeleteWhat is your policy for what happens to the flowers and other gifts that family members leave by the graves?
I would love to know those same questions, i know that at our towns cemetery we have one person who is in charge of mowing the entire grave yard, and let me just tell you that there is a ton of land and that is hard work. I think that they said during the tour that spring grove only allows real flowers, they do not allow the fake ones on any grave which i really like. I think that it adds a lot to the cemetery and keeps it looking nice. I think that using real flowers also symbolizes how real flowers are alive and that there is life after death. I believe that the sign also said that family members were also in charge of taking down any flower that they bring and can only be there for a certain period of time because they do not want dead flowers on the graves.
DeleteI found a website where you can register to donate your body to science. On the website there are many tabs explaining many questions people may have. There is also a phone number for people who want more information that is not located on the website or cannot be found. I also found that Science Care plants a tree as a living monument for the donor and their family. All trees are planted in national forests to help replenish the native trees from that area. Donating your body to science allows you to give back to the medical community and also to the environment.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencecare.com/
When i die i would like to be buried, the thought of being cremated kind of scares me. I as well would love to know how much it costs to be buried in Spring Grove, or how much it costs to even buy a spot for when you do die. At first, i didn't think i would like the idea of a green funeral because i always though of having a fancy casket, but when i read Katie's blog i saw that she mentioned the quote "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return" i think i often forget that, even when we are reminded of that every year. So I think that i would be able to have a green funeral, it would cut down a lot of the cost for my family. I would love to know what the most expensive grave is, and the largest.
ReplyDeleteRussian Mafia Gravestones
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/feb/13/mob-deep-russian-mafia-gravestones-in-pictures
10ft tall, full engraved portraits with extensive backgrounds, just to show off their wealth and surpass all the other dead in the cemetery.
When I die, I would loved to have a green funeral. I think of it as supplying energy and products into the earth while I am living, and in return I become one with the earth when I die. I think it is a beautiful way to show the simplicity of everyone becoming part of the dirt that we once walked on and lived our life. If everyone was buried in a natural way, we would all become equal - no riches or objects to show off- as we are supposed to be seen. Extravagant caskets have been over played too much and I think it is a waste of family money to bury me in an expensive box.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the green funeral, i think that the simplicity is awesome and that everyone can finally be considered equal because no ones funeral could possibly be better or worse than any one else's. I think it kinds of set a more relief for those who may not be able to afford extravagant funerals since the cost of funerals is so much.
DeleteWhy do we not have the grand grave markers now that people used to have? Is it because of the material the ones we use now are made out of? or is simply the cost?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of being cremated when I die. The idea of "ashes to ashes. dust to dust" really makes me feel like I would be giving my body back to the Earth. "You came from dust, and to dust you shall return."
Gretchen, i have asked myself that several times why we do not have the large beautiful head stones that they used to have. I love the architecture and the history behind them and i wish we still used them. I don't know if i could ever be cremated honestly the though kind of scares me but you do make a good point that it would be just like giving your body back to earth
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