What is a natural burial?
A natural burial is a burial at a natural burial ground: a piece of forest, heath or dune area that has been specially arranged to bury people without nature having to make way for it. There is no gravestone, no lawn with straight paths and no neatly maintained plot. Instead, the body or ashes are laid to rest among existing trees and shrubs, and the place gradually grows further as part of the forest.
The difference from a regular cemetery is mainly in what happens after the burial. At a traditional cemetery, a grave is actively maintained: the grass is mowed, paths are raked and you usually rent grave rights for a certain period that you have to renew. At a natural burial ground, the emphasis is on leaving things alone. The land is managed as a nature reserve, not as a garden, and the grave is not worked on again after the burial.
How does a natural burial ground differ from a regular cemetery?
You notice the biggest difference when you visit. While a regular cemetery is often divided into rows with similar gravestones, you walk on a natural burial ground along paths between unequal trees, where here and there a small, natural marker lies: a stone from the area, a wooden post, sometimes only a GPS coordinate. Some places allow a handwritten nameplate, others deliberately keep it anonymous to keep the landscape as pure as possible.
No gravestone, but a place in nature
At most natural burial grounds you are not allowed to place a traditional gravestone. Instead, you often choose a tree that serves as a marker, or a small, natural stone that fits into the landscape. For some people, that is precisely the attraction: no maintenance, no obligation to visit regularly to weed, but a place that naturally changes with the seasons.
Management and perpetual grave peace
Another practical difference lies in grave peace. At many natural burial grounds you buy perpetual grave peace: the grave is never cleared and the associated place in the forest is permanently preserved. This is different from many regular cemeteries, where grave rights have to be renewed after a period of ten or twenty years, with the possibility that a grave will otherwise be cleared. This perpetual arrangement is precisely why it is important to clearly document your choice for a natural burial ground, so that those left behind do not have to search for what you meant.
What does this mean for your loved ones?
A natural burial sometimes requires a bit more explanation to the people left behind, precisely because it is less familiar than a burial at the local cemetery. Those left behind need to know which natural burial ground you mean, whether you had a specific tree or a specific piece of land in mind, and whether you have a funeral director who has experience with this type of burial. Not every funeral director works with it as often, so it is worth discussing that beforehand.
It helps to share this wish not only verbally, but also document it on paper or digitally, together with other practical choices such as the music for the service or who you want to invite. With PSILY you can document these kinds of wishes step by step at your funeral wishes, so that your loved ones do not have to guess at the time itself what you exactly meant by "a place in the forest".
Recording that you want a natural burial
Because a natural burial often goes hand in hand with specific choices, such as a biodegradable coffin or a cloth instead of clothing with synthetic materials, it is smart to make those details concrete. Think of the name of the natural burial ground, whether you already have a policy or contract running, and whether you want a specific text or poem to be read at the grave. You will find these choices later among your other documents, for example if you safely and encrypted stored in your digital vault alongside important documents such as a policy number.
Some people choose to include their wish for a natural burial in broader arrangements about their estate, such as who gets which items or who takes on which role after their death. If you want to formally record these choices, it can be good to also look at how to draw up a will with a notary, so that your funeral wishes and your broader estate align. Still unsure about how exactly this works? Then you'll find more explanation in the frequently asked questions about funeral and estate.
Start today
A natural burial is for many people a conscious, peaceful choice: no gravestone, no strict maintenance, but a place that slowly merges with the landscape around it. Do you want to make sure that your wish is clear for the people left behind? Create a free account at PSILY today and record your funeral wishes, so no one has to guess what you meant.