WILMOT, Ohio — A conservation site in Stark County is combining life with death.
What You Need To Know
- The first natural burial ground in Ohio, Foxfield Preserve, opened in 2008
- Foxfield Preserve is operated by a conservation organization
- Natural burials are considered better for the environment than conventional burials
Foxfield Preserve opened in 2008 and was the first natural burial ground in Ohio.
The director of Foxfield Preserve, Sara Brink, explained it actually is first of its kind in the country.
“We are the first in the nation to be operated by a conservation organization,” Brink said. “Our parent organization is The Wilderness Center. We are a land conservancy and a nature center so all of the proceeds from arrangements here go back to benefit the community through our nature education programs and our conservation efforts.”
With natural burials, bodies are not embalmed and concrete vaults and steel caskets are not used, which is better for the environment.
“In a conventional burial, you are using a tremendous amount of natural resources,” Brink said. “In fact, I think a few years ago The Green Burial Council, which is a national organization, reported that each year in the U.S. we are burying enough concrete in vaults to build a two-lane highway from New York to Detroit and enough steel in caskets to rebuild the Golden Gate Bridge.
“We are pouring all of those resources into the ground to stop what is actually just a biological process.”
Along with natural burials being better for the environment than conventional burials, Brink explained that there are a lot of emotional benefits of a green burial as well.
“The actual burial service itself involves so much family participation,” she said. “The family buries their loved one with their own hands. They pick up shovels and they participate in the closing of the grave, they lower their loved one into the ground by hand. What we have found is that direct participation giving people something to do, makes such a huge difference in their ability to find closure after their time of loss.”
The Craven family is one of many who have found comfort in having their loved ones final resting place at Foxfield Preserve.
Christa Craven chose to have a natural burial for her brother, David, who died in 2019.
“We wanted him close by. We live in Wooster which is about 30-40 minutes away,” Craven said. “He also really loved The Wilderness Center, which is where the Foxfield Preserve is.”
Now, the Craven family is able to take hikes to see David’s plot. They enjoy sharing memories of David and looking around at the nature that surrounds the area.
“We have seen multiple cats up here, which is also just really nice because my brother adored cats, and so it is nice to know that they come by,” Craven said. “I kind of hope they come and sleep nearby and hang out with him.”
For more information on Foxfield Preserve, visit its website.
