Bodalla conservation burial ground application the first of its kind on the South Coast
A South Coast woman wants to give “our western way of death a revamp” and create a green burial area on her family’s land, where people are sent off in clay caskets or just shrouded in cotton and placed in the ground.
The South Coast News
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A Bodalla woman wants to revamp the “western way of death” and create a green burial ground, where people are sent off in fully biodegradeable caskets made out of clay or wicker.
Others can also adopt to just be shrouded in natural fibres for themselves or their family members if they choose to be buried at the eco-friendly site.
The ‘conservation burial ground’ will be the first of its kind on the South Coast and only the third in NSW if Eurobodalla Council approves the development application.
Fiona McCuiag has submitted the DA, valued at $369,000, at Gannons Point Road in Bodalla, south of the Tuross River and west of Borang Lake.
“I want to give people the choice,” she said. “Our western way of death needs a revamp.”
Natural burials give people the option to be buried in raw or recycled biodegradable caskets such as clay pods, wicker, willow or raw teak coffins, or a shroud of cotton or woollen fibres. Traditional caskets use metal fittings and may have veneers applied causing the decomposition process to take much longer.
Family members are then encouraged to plant a spotted gum at the burial place in memory of their loved one and to also reforest the area.
A grass buffer zone of 5m will separate the bodies.
Ms McCuiag and her family live on the grounds in a house about 2km from the site.
The operational eco-friendly burial grounds are at Sydney Natural Burial Park in Kemps Creek and Lismore Memorial Gardens.
Kemps Creek features no headstones or monuments and artificial wreaths or tributes aren’t left as cherished memorials. GPS coordinates record where loved ones are laid to rest, so people can visit in later years.
In Lismore, people are laid to rest in an open, eucalypt forest that’s also home to a koala habitat.
Shoalhaven Council has approved natural burial portion at the Cambewarra General Cemetery.
Ms McCuaig said her plan varied from the other NSW options in that she wanted to give people the opportunity to leave a conservation legacy when they die.
“What we are doing is quite different (to Lismore Memorial Gardens). We want to reforest land that became rural, pastoral land.”
Ms McCuaig has a conservation background and she said she was inspired by green burials in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
“It’s about taking burials back to how they used to be,” she said.
They’ve identified spotted gums as the endemic species that people can choose to plant on their graves.
Mitigating bushfire risk is also a high-priority. The tree canopy is proposed to be spaced between two to five metres apart. Spotted gums are also one of the most fire-resistant types of eucalypts, she says.
“We will be working with the local Aboriginal Land Council and Bodalla fire brigade about (fire mitigation strategies).”
Her project has been in the works for three and a half years and she has called on South Coast consultants and design specialists to help
Mrs McCuaig said grass buffer zones of at least fives meres would space the burial sites and absorb nutrients.
“It’s been a long road with soil testing,” she said. “We’re treating the medium like its sewerage sludge.”
A ceremonial gazebo and guest parking is also included in the plans.
Anglican Church of Bodalla and Narooma Reverend Mandy Wheatley said she was “100 per cent” in support of the natural burial project.
“This is right with my spirit,” she said. “(Death) is such a sensitive topic. As a priest, we see people from birth to their eternal life. We get to talk with people about end of life and it’s quite a privilege,” she said.
According to IBISWorld, innovations regarding green burials have increased in popularity since 2014, including services at green burial or bushland sites; the use of biodegradable coffins made of cardboard, wicker or a simple shroud; avoiding the use of headstones; and using shallower graves that don’t require heavy earthmoving equipment.
“Green funerals – funerals with an emphasis on reducing the environmental impact of the burial – have become increasingly popular among many individuals in recent years. Traditional burial services can have a significant effect on the environment, with embalmed bodies and traditional coffins taking prolonged periods to break down. Additionally, cremation has significant energy requirements and has been linked with particulate and harmful mercury emissions into the atmosphere (caused by incinerating fillings in teeth),” IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst, Tom Miller, said.