Keweenaw Green Burial Alliance presents progress in local cemeteries' acceptance, development of green burial options

Signs in Chassell Township cemetery indicate an area reserved for green burial. (November 2023 photo by Keweenaw Now)

The Community Room at Portage Lake District Library was nearly standing room only on November 20, 2023, for a presentation by Keweenaw Green Burial Alliance (KGBA) President Stephen Jukuri on "A Tale of Two Cemeteries: Chassell Township Outperforms with Green Burial."

The event was KGBA's first "post-pandemic" community update on what this non-profit educational and advocacy organization has been learning in the past few years about both successes and failures of green burial in local Upper Peninsula cemeteries -- from Chassell to Nisula.

Jukuri prefaced his presentation by introducing some of the KGBA Board members who were present at the Nov. 20 event:

At the beginning of Keweenaw Green Burial Alliance President Stephen Jukuri's Nov. 20, 2023, community update on green burial, KGBA Board Members Jenn Donovan, Candy Peterson and Sue Ellen Kingsley speak briefly on their interest in green burial and how they became board members for this organization. Jukuri notes funeral director Jeff Dennis is also a KGBA board member. (Videos by Keweenaw Now)

Stephen Jukuri opened his presentation by explaining why the usual definition of green burial, i.e., burial 

• with NO Conventional embalming fluids
• with NO Vault
• and With biodegradable materials

is true but no longer sufficient.

During his Nov. 20, 2023, presentation on green burial, Keweenaw Green Burial Alliance (KGBA) president Stephen Jukuri discusses why the original definition of green burial is insufficient. He notes various reasons why people prefer green burial.

Noting that, beginning in 2015, Joe Youngman of Chassell developed the areas in the Chassell Township cemetery for their aesthetic qualities -- for example, a natural, woodsy environment with many trees -- Jukuri gave several reasons for Chassell's success in providing green burial opportunities.

Stephen Jukuri cites the number of green burial plots that have been sold in the Chassell cemetery in just five years (76 of 102 plots were sold) as evidence of its success, noting the importance of aesthetics and a connection to the natural world.

A bridge leads to one of the green burial areas located along the side of the Chassell cemetery. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Next Jukuri compared the Chassell Township cemetery's achievements for green burial to Portage Township's less successful efforts to provide for green burial at Forest Hill cemetery. Both townships launched green burial in the fall of 2015.*

Stephen Jukuri explains why Forest Hill cemetery in Portage Township, has not been successful in providing green burial plots -- as opposed to Chassell cemetery, where 76 plots have been sold since 2015.

The Marquette cemetery's green burial area dates from 2019. Jukuri noted considerable progress in what they offer and a recent surge of interest in green burial as evidenced by 27 of 250 plots sold, including 12 just last summer, even though their plots are expensive.

 

Recounting his disappointment during a visit he made to the Marquette cemetery green burial section, Jukuri points out improvements made since then. At first their area for green burial lacked aesthetics, but local residents have removed invasive plants such as spotted knapweed and the new sexton is working to make positive changes.

 

Jukuri noted this progress in Marquette indicates "people are opting for green burial even if it's less than perfect."

 

Finally, Jukuri mentioned smaller cemeteries in the U.P. that are developing green burial areas, including Evergreen Cemetery in Eagle River, Jacobsville, Herman, Nisula and more.

 

Evergreen Cemetery, which is fully plotted (no room for additional plots) has designated certain rows for green burial. They have also eliminated the vault requirement for the cemetery.

Jacobsville Cemetery, Jukuri said, decided, just before COVID, that they would no longer require vaults.

"They allow green burial throughout the cemetery and have no residency requirement," Jukuri added.

Herman Cemetery in l'Anse Township, Baraga County, recently allowed green burial as of last summer (2023). They no longer require vaults and are planning to have some simple green burial rules. Since they are small, Jukuri said, they do restrict burial to people who have lived in Herman or who have close family who have lived there.

Jukuri also described development of green burial in some small cemeteries, including Nisula and Champion, and one large one -- Lake View Cemetery near Calumet.

Stephen Jukuri speaks about some local cemeteries that have recently begun to allow or plan for green burial areas and policies. 

Nisula has recently done surveys to determine how much land is available to include green burial. Champion has received a donation of an attractive piece of property that is designated for green burial. Lake View Cemetery is a private cemetery with shareholders and has indicated they are planning for green burial, but so far haven't announced details (as of the time of this presentation).

Arlene Ross of l'Anse, who attended the Nov. 20 presentation, said green burial is something she's been interested in for many years.

"Great!" Ross commented on Jukuri's presentation. "I think it's the wave of the future. Less land wasted and no carbon footprint. Traditional burial has a large waste of resources and land and contributes to pollution."

Roseann Terry of Houghton said she heard about the presentation from KGBA Board Member Candy Peterson.

"My husband died about a year and a half ago and he was cremated," Terry said, "but this sounds like something I would like to do. This was a great presentation! My whole thoughts on the future are changed now...and I wish more people would think this way." 

KGBA Board Member Jeff Dennis, manager of Pearce Funeral Home in Lake Linden, spoke with Keweenaw Now after this presentation on his support for green burial as a funeral director.

"I think that in general we're seeing a shift in people's attitudes -- being more environmentally conscious -- and that attitude is even trickling its way into the funeral industry," Jeff Dennis said. "People are getting more aware of the environmental impacts their choices make, and they want to be more environmentally friendly. I think there's a trend overall in all their choices, and even in their funeral choices, to be more environmentally friendly."

As a KGBA Board member, Jeff succeeds his father, Mark Dennis, manager of the O'Neill-Dennis Funeral Home in Hancock, who served on the KGBA Board for a three-year term.

One KGBA board seat is available to local funeral directors who have demonstrated strong support and commitment to green/natural burial practices. This seat is open to all such funeral directors on a rotational basis.

Learn about green burial, local cemeteries that support it, how it differs from conventional burial and cremation, and more on the KGBA Web site: https://kgba.weebly.com. 

One first step for anyone interested in green burial is to check out KGBA's Green Burial Planner. Planning ahead includes free consultation with a funeral director. Also, while it may be a little more common to purchase cemetery lots ahead of time, buying them is not necessary for planning ahead.

* Editor's Note: Chassell Township Cemetery is presently the only local cemetery that allows green burial in winter, with some caveats. For details, click here for their Green Burial Section Rules.