Landscaped to attract future "residents" and those who will visit them, cemeteries often harbor a wide variety of trees and shrubs. As a result, as birders know, they are often good places to observe our avian neighbors, especially during the spring migration.
But, like golf courses and suburban lawns, cemeteries are not natural environments. Their vast, green carpets are maintained by a toxic assortment of chemicals; after all, who would want their loved ones surrounded by the handiwork of dandelions, grubs and moles? Those of us who care about the accelerating loss of natural habitat are not fond of cemeteries and wonder why we all need our own plot in which to disintegrate after death. Would it not be better to have our ashes spread at one of our favorite haunts....along a beach, in a forest or on a mountainside where we would quickly re-enter the fabric of nature? Would our loved ones not prefer to visit us there than to stand over a grave marker, picturing us in a quilted box?
Of course, many religious traditions dictate our burial practices and the undertaker lobby would surely object to this suggestion. But, then again, these organizations are not in the business of promoting conservation.
