Final Arrangements

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020 5 SPECIAL SECTION Final Arrangements By Todd Lewys W ith environmental awareness on the rise, more and more people and organizations are choosing to go green. It should then come as no surprise that city-owned cemeteries in Winnipeg may soon be offering a green burial option to the public. "Brookside, Transcona and St. Vital Cemeteries all offer burials that align with many of the principles associated with green burials," says Brett Shenback, cemeteries administrator for the City of Winnipeg. "The use of a concrete vault or liner isn't required, we don't require embalming, bodies can be interred in biodegradable caskets and an individual grave marker isn't required." Now, the city is looking at going totally green when it comes to burials. As of May 12, a number of requests for proposals (RFPs) were received as part of a business plan that could be used to further develop city cemeteries in as- sociation with a consultant. The plan is for that consultant to be selected sometime this June. Green bur- ials were noted as one of the options that the city wants the chosen consultant to explore as part of their work. "We'll be looking to the advice and recommendations of the consultant," Shenback says. "It should be grounded in their experience and expertise with these options from other jurisdictions." Former Winnipegger Barry Tuck, who now operates Yates Memorial Services in Parksville, B.C., says that his company has been providing customers with a green burial option (under the auspices of the Green Burial Society of Canada) since the fall of 2018. "We've been doing green burials for nearly two years. In that time it's really become a buzzword here," he reports. "We did 10 green burials the first year and about 10 the second. On average, we get one inquiry per week. Right now, we have 10 pre-arranged green burials in place, so demand is growing. Larger centres like Victoria average 30 to 40 green burials per year." Tuck says green burials are as natural as the name suggests. "With regard to green burial sites, there's to be no nurturing of the ground, which means there's no fertilization or irrigation allowed. Everything must grow freely and naturally without any prun- ing, and no man-made monuments are allowed," he explains. "Names and birth/ death dates of the deceased can be put on a boulder, though." And while no man-made markers are allowed, natural ones are. "Family members and friends are al- lowed to put rocks or natural items that are small and appropriate on plots," he notes. "All plots are correctly plotted so we know where each family member is buried." Green burials also bear little resem- blance to traditional burials in that the process is much more stripped down, Tuck adds. "Bodies aren't embalmed and there can be no metals or man-made fabrics – any clothing on the person being interred must be biodegradable. Caskets must also be made of eco-friendly materials such as wicker or wood. After the reception or service, we simply go to the burial site and lower the clothed or shrouded body into the ground with hemp ropes." Even though green burial guidelines are strict, some leeway is allowed. "For nearly a year, we've offered double-depth burials so that a wife or husband's final resting place will be with the one they love," Tuck says. "It can be a green burial, or cremated remains can be interred in eco-friendly urns. We don't have plots for cremated remains as they would fill up the area too quickly." Shenback says it's going take some time to work through the most stringent green burial standards to see if they'll work in city-run cemeteries. "The Green Burial Council identifies certification standards for natural burial grounds and conservation burial grounds – the two most strict categor- ies of green burials," he says. "Current practices here don't align with these more stringent categories." It will then be the consultant's job to see if city-owned cemeteries are able to adapt to those more stringent green guidelines. "As part of their work, the consultant will assess our current interment prac- tices and provide recommendations on potential changes and new products/ services, potentially including green burials." When might a decision be rendered on the efficacy of green burials? It's anticipated that the city's Cemeter- ies Business Plan and Review of the Per- petual Maintenance Reserve Fund will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021. The findings will determine if the city might move ahead with considering the adoption of green burials at that time, Shenback says. 1801 Notre Dame Ave. 204.633.5053 Toll Free 1-866-755-5401 Email: larsens@mymts.net Experience • Quality • Trust • Craftsmanship www.larsensmemorials.com & Granite Monuments Markers Arinbjorn S. Bardal Njall O. Bardal Neil O. Bardal Eirik L. Bardal One Winnipeg Location Only Across from Brookside Cemetery 3030 Notre Dame Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 1B9 neilbardalinc.com info@nbardal.mb.ca 949-2200 Call: (204) The Only Funeral Home Owned and Operated by the Bardal Family INC Going green Study to consider green burials at city-owned cemeteries PHOTOS BY DARCY FINLEY The City of Winnipeg is investigating the possibility of adopting green burial practices at Brookside (top and below right) and Transcona (below left) cemeteries

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