Nature’s Sanctuary is an international award-winning green burial area at Laurel Hill West. To demonstrate our connection to community and ecology, Nature’s Sanctuary is planted with native annuals, perennials, grasses, trees, and shrubs and is currently maintained as a meadow transitioning into a successional forest. This green burial area is stewarded using only organic materials and all graves are hand-dug for minimal environmental impact; no gas-powered equipment is used. Only biodegradable or environmentally friendly caskets, shrouds, and urns are allowed. Nature’s Sanctuary is a regenerative landscape that offers families a tranquil environment and a direct connection to the earth.

Accolades:

• SITES Gold Certified — the first cemetery to ever achieve SITES Gold status
• Selected for a Merit Award from the ASLA in the General Design Category
• Awarded the Bowman’s Hill Land Ethics Award for Best Large Scale Project

Valley View Green, a green burial area at Laurel Hill East, is a peaceful quarter-acre of native wildflowers and grasses surrounded by a border of native trees and shrubs. The view from this green burial area frames sweeping views of the cemetery’s historic monuments and expansive landscape. Valley View Green was created using repurposed materials, including a portion of the original iron fence that once defined the perimeter of the cemetery. Only biodegradable or environmentally friendly caskets, shrouds, and urns are permitted in this section.

Bala Green, the newest green burial area at Laurel Hill, was created to offer eternal rest among intentionally-planned communities of native plants. This half-acre section at Laurel Hill West, with views overlooking the Manayunk hills, was designed with sustainability and natural beauty in mind. A stunning memorial meadow with comfortable walking paths and benches, Bala Green functions as both a peaceful resting place and a native ecosystem benefiting a wide variety of wildlife. Other features include special larger lots that incorporate a native flowering tree,  and low monument walls of granite onto which the names of those buried in the area are engraved.

Only biodegradable or environmentally friendly caskets, shrouds, and urns are permitted in this section.

The Beauties & Benefits of Green Burial (March 2, 2023) on Vimeo.

Green burials are a way of reducing carbon footprints after death while still celebrating the life of a loved one. NBC10’s Matt Delucia has the story.