New forested cemetery allows for gentle reflection rather than rows of gravesites

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The sky is blue, the early-morning air is crisp, and you inhale deeply before walking into the forest. Memories _ along with a soft padding of moss, grass and soil _ cushion each step.

You find the tree you've come to easily recognize. You tell your loved ones, whose cremated remains are buried below, that you miss them.

This type of "cemetery" visit is the vision behind EcoEternity, a German company that uses biodegradable urns instead of caskets and mature trees instead of granite headstones.

This week, a portion of forest in Monroe County, Pa.'s Barrett Township is becoming the second EcoEternity cemetery in the United States to offer this type of burial, a long-popular choice in countries such as Germany and Switzerland and in parts of Asia.

For those who choose cremation _ now a third of Americans and projected to be more than half by 2025 _ the forest offers families the opportunity to visit loved ones in a natural setting, to have them become part of the forest's nutrient base and to help ensure the forest remains free from development, said Axel Baudach, EcoEternity's co-founder.

And it offers people a place to visit, unlike scattering ashes over the ocean or _ an actual alternative _ having them shot into outer space.

"Every now and then, people need a place to go," said Baudach, who was in Pennsylvania this week giving tours and preparing for today's consecration ceremony. "The green ... helps people in a stressful situation."

The 2.5-acre cemetery is on a portion of Pocono Plateau and Retreat Center, a 750-acre camp owned and operated by the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. By next year, two more EcoEternity forests will open at church-owned Pennsylvania camps: Innabah in Chester County and Gretna Glen in Lebanon County.

Baudach introduced the first memorial tree burial concept last year in the South, joining with the United Methodist Church in Northern Virginia. He operates 28 "green" cemeteries in Germany, his home country.

The EcoEternity Forest at Pocono Plateau fits in perfectly with the Methodists' mission, said camp director Ron Schane, and that's why it was so important for the church to further ensure the forest is not developed.

"Part of our ministry is teaching God's love, meditation ... reflection. There's no better place to reflect than in nature," he said.

Schane said the Pocono Plateau site is open to anyone, regardless of faith.

To join an EcoEternity forest, you'd first go to a site and select a tree chosen by a forester based on shape, health and quality of soil. The remains of up to 15 people can be buried beneath a "friendship" or "family reunion" tree, both of which start at $4,500. Individual burials start at $675.

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EcoEternity does not do cremations, a separate expense that can range from $800 to $3,500.

So far in Virginia, 36 people have chosen a tree and paid for the 99-year lease.

And what happens after 99 years? Baudach was frank: "I don't know."

You'd know where in the forest your loved one lies because the tree bears a small plaque with the person's name.

Traditional funeral homes and cemetery providers see alternative burial options as consistent with the many offerings available.

"There's not the tensions when they think of these green cemeteries," said Robert Fells, spokesman for the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. "I think these eco-cemeteries are fine. It's going to be up to the public whether they see value in it."

That largely depends on what a person values.

If the goal is having the ultimate green ending, cremation can't match the burial of an un-embalmed body in a biodegradable box or wrapped in cloth, said Mark Harris, author of "Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial."

"Is this option the greenest option? No, but it's a way of greening up cremation," said Harris. "It provides a camp like this a stream of revenue that keeps them solvent and keeps these forests existing.

"It's hard to imagine a nicer place to return your remains."

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© 2008, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)