Back to the land: Natural funerals treat death as part of the cycle of life. Photo courtesy of Ramsey Creek Preserve.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—This weekend at the University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, researchers will lead a discussion on green burials as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science. The University's continuing research has focused on the wide range of services offered in eco-funerals, and the impact the practice has on families and the landscape. "People have told us they like to visit sites where they can hear the birds or a stream in a wildlife habitat," says Andy Clayden, senior lecturer at University of Sheffield. "Some people are put off by the formality of cemeteries and are uncomfortable with the conventions and rules involved in conventional burials."

THE DETAILS: There are more than 200 natural burial grounds in the United Kingdom, ranging from extensions of conventional cemeteries to spots owned by nonprofits or individuals. Most are concerned with preserving the land and habitat, while giving families a place to lay their loved ones to rest without dangerous chemicals that can leach into groundwater and make funeral workers sick. "Green burial acknowledges that the natural end of all life is decomposition and decay," explains Mark Harris, author of Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial (Scribner/Simon & Schuster). "It lets the natural process run its course."

The trend is catching on in the United States, too. There are about a dozen natural cemeteries here, and nearly 50 regular cemeteries that allow for burial of bodies without a burial vault. In the greenest of green cemeteries, you might not even know you're in one. "It's like walking through a nature preserve," Harris says.

WHAT IT MEANS: Modern methods of dealing with the dead are unappetizing to a growing number of people for many different reasons. The process of embalming is invasive and considered a desecration of the body by some; others are turned off by the carcinogenic chemicals used in the process. Sometimes, it's a money issue: The average conventional funeral costs $10,000 to $12,000, while a natural burial runs in the low thousands, Harris says. And natural cemeteries protect nature—it’s land that won’t be developed—while allowing the deceased to become one with the natural landscape. Going all-natural also saves resources when compared to modern burial practices. Take these numbers Harris compiled into consideration: There's enough coffin wood in the average 10-acre cemetery to build 40 houses, as well as 1,000 tons of steel from metal caskets, 20,000 tons of concrete in burial vaults, and enough embalming fluid to fill a small backyard swimming pool. "Each year, we divert enough metal to construction of caskets and lining of some burial vaults to completely rebuild the Golden Gate Bridge, and enough concrete for burial vaults to create a two-lane highway running halfway across the country," Harris says. "All for a short period of preservation."

Interested in going green when it’s time to go? Here's what you need to know: