Full Circle of Living and Dying
  • Home
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    • Symbolism of our LOGO
    • JOIN OUR TEAM
    • Board of Directors 2021 >
      • Akhila Murphy, Co-Founder, End-of-Life Doula, Death Care Midwife
      • Martha Turner, Midwifery, President
      • Donna Peizer, Treasurer
      • Mary Good, End-of-Life Doula, Secretary
      • Amanda Kenney, Death-Care Midwife, Board Member
      • Linda More, End-of-Life Doula, Board Member since 2020
    • Core Circle Team >
      • Nandi Szabo, Co-Founder
      • CMA Medeiros, End-of-Life Doula
      • Nancy Parraz, Death Care Midwife
    • Advocates for end-of-life choices and death-care rights
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      • Our Final Passages Death Midwifery Training
      • Home Funeral Article by Jerrigrace Lyons
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  • Home Funeral Guidance
    • Know your rights. Home death care is legal.
    • Home Death Care in California >
      • Home Funeral Paperwork
    • CALIFORNIA DEATH CERTIFICATE Instructions
    • Death Care >
      • Sacred Death Care
    • What is "Lying in Honor?"
    • Pet Funeral >
      • Pet Euthanasia in the Home
    • Death Certificate Worksheet >
      • Nevada County-File Your Own Paperwork for Death Certificate - Vital Records Office
    • Video: A Conversation about After Death Care
  • End-of-Life Plan of Care
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    • California End of Life Option Act + video Info
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  • Green Burial
    • History of Natural Green Burial, Cherokee Cemetery, Nevada County >
      • Green Burial Santa Monica 2016
      • Green Burial Video from GBC
    • Recompose: Composting Human Remains
    • Natural Organic Reduction Human Composting
    • Find A Grave (website)
    • Aquamation: Water Cremation
    • Cremation- Not so Environmentally Friendly!
  • Events/News
    • EVENTS Jan/Feb 2021: Death Conversations- Breaking the silence
    • Article Amigo Bob -Natural Organic Reduction Human Composting
    • KVMR Podcast: End-of-LIfe Doulas
    • Past Event Oct 7 & 8, 2020 Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss
    • Past Event: Jan 26, 2020 Your Life, Your Choice, Your Plan
    • PUBLISHED ARTICLES >
      • April 2020 Ventilators in times of COVID-19
      • Death & Grieving around Corona Virus March 26, 2020
      • Article August 2019 Giving Back
      • Giving Back After Tragedy, September 2019 The Union
      • Article The Union May 2019 New nonprofit
      • Article The Union August 2019 HBO Documentary
      • Choosing When to Die
      • Home Funeral Visitation
    • PAST EVENTS >
      • End-of-Life Doula Training with Inspired Endings - Oct 2019
      • SEPT 2019 EVENT: Advance Directives + Dementia Directive >
        • June 9, 2019 Short Film & Death Conversation
        • Mar, Apr, May 2019
      • 2018 Past Events >
        • A Matter of Life & Death: Workshop Series Sept. 22, 2018
        • Nandi's Cancer Support Group September-October 2018
        • Past Events: 2018
        • Event May 20, 2018- Creating a Death Care Plan: Exploring Unconventional Options
        • Event: July 22, 2018 Death Cafe
      • 2017 PAST Events: August 27th -Understanding California's End-of-LIfe Option Act >
        • Deathwalker Training with Zenith Virago Sept 2017
        • Past Event: Film screening: Zen & the Art of Dying August 13, 2017
        • PAST Event: Film screening: Zen and the Art of Dying June 11, 2017
        • Past Event: Death Salon, A Gathering of Community to Discuss Death -MAR 26
        • Past Event - Exploring After Death Options: What Happens to our Bodily Remains? Feb 19, 2017 2-4pm
        • Going Out Green: Learn about Eco-friendly Home Funerals and Green Burial Cemetery JAN. 8, 2017
        • International Death Doula Training 2017
      • 2016 Events Planning Your Own Send-off May 1, 2016 >
        • Stephen Jenkinson Comes to NC March 14, 2016
        • Education, Presentations, Death Cafe
        • Event: Sunday Aug 28 2-4pm Home Funerals & Green Burial
      • EARLY YEARS 2013-2015 EVENTS
  • Resources
    • One Source Empowering Caregivers
    • Companions for Pregnancy and Infant Loss
    • Grief Support: Jemma Skye Champeau
    • Bereavement Groups in Nevada County
    • Advance Directives California + Dementia
    • Sierra Foothills Village: Aging in Place
    • Resources and Links
    • Medical Aid in Dying Film clip + Physician support >
      • Dr. Stephen Banister, Nevada County
      • American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying
    • California's End-of-Life Option Act >
      • End-of-Life Plan of Care
      • VSED: Voluntarily Stopping Eating & Drinking >
        • Supporting a Loved One at End of Life
    • Body / Organ Donation
    • Threshold Choir
    • People in the Death Trade & Training
    • Holding Space
  • Medical Aid in Dying Film
  • FAQ
  • Companions for Pregnancy Loss
  • Suggested Reading
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  • Go Wish Cards Online
  • Beauty of EOL Study
  • JOIN OUR TEAM
  • Bardo, Buddhism and the Art of Dying
  • Accomplishments
  • Medical Aid in Dying - Local Pharmacy
According to the Green Burial Council, 
"Green burial is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that furthers legitimate ecological aims such as the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat." (http://www.greenburialcouncil.org/)

As defined by the National Home Funeral Directors Association website, with green burial:  "T
he body is buried, without embalming, in a natural setting. Any shroud or casket that is used must be biodegradable, nontoxic, and of sustainable material. Traditional standing headstones are not permitted. Instead, flat rocks, plants or trees may serve as grave markers."

  • Green Burial Description:
Nearly all cemeteries in the United States use conventional burial practices.  These practices include embalming the body with toxic chemicals, burial caskets made of heavy metals, and the use of concrete or metal grave liners are required. Each year across the US conventional funeral practices may use toxic embalming fluid (not required by law), tons of steel, copper and bronze in caskets, millions of board feet of hardwoods, over a million tons of reinforced concrete for grave liners (vaults) or over 10 thousand tons of steel in vaults.  These are environmentally destructive practices that are not required by any laws, but are simply cemetery policies that with thoughtful management are not necessary.
 All of these practices are environmental hazards and are not required by law. Additionally, conventional cemeteries use pesticides, lawn care machinery and unknown amounts of precious water in the maintenance of lawns, trees and shrubs.  However, green burials are environmentally friendly. Green burial is a traditional form of burial that allows natural decomposition of human remains back into the earth. Concrete and steel grave liners are not allowed. This form of burial offers the least environmental impact possible in a wilderness-like setting. No toxic chemicals are allowed, and only earth friendly caskets or shrouds may be put into the all-natural grave. Ground maintenance is minimal due to the natural setting of shrubs and trees.  Green burials are an environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional funeral practices using non-toxic and biodegradable materials.


  • Green Burial Protocol:
A section of a cemetery is provided where vaults are prohibited.  This allows for the natural decomposition of the body.  Biodegradable caskets or a shroud are used instead of traditional caskets made of heavy metals.    The body is not embalmed and is allowed to naturally decompose.  The grave is not lined with concrete or metal, which also allows the body to decompose naturally.    Instead, it is only lined with gravel soil and rocks.  This allows for the decomposition of the body but also allows the cemetery district to identify boundaries of a grave to allow for future digging of additional burial sites.  The burial ground has only native grasses, trees and plants.  No lawns are allowed which require gas powered equipment and pesticides to maintain.   The Nevada Cemetery District has reserved a section of the Cherokee Cemetery for only green burials.   www.nevadacemeterydistrict.com/green-burial/

 UPDATE July 2016: Matt Melugin, Manager of Nevada Cemetery District has conducted research about green burial from resources around the state and country. He has poured endless hours of time in talking with other cemeteries managers around the country, health officials, anthropologists from several universities, lawyers, and other environmental officials to create a viable plan of protocol for green burial in Cherokee Cemetery.  Matt presented the report before the Nevada Cemetery District Board for a vote on Wednesday July 27, 2016. The board voted yes to move forward with the plan to include green burial in select cemeteries in the Nevada Cemetery District! You may NOW purchase these very low cost burial plots by calling Nevada Cemetery District (530)265-3461. Tell them you heard about it from Full Circle of Living & Dying. 

The information provided using this web site is only intended to be general summary information to the public. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
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