Green burial options for gardeners 🌿 TreeFolks robbed 🌿 watermelon gazpacho 🌿

NURSERY NOTES: during the night of July 26th, thieves broke into the offices of TreeFolks, and stripped this noble organization of some of its most precious assets — namely an F-250 pick-up, and other vital equipment totalling $100,000. On Instagram TreeFolks wrote that the theft left them shaken, but not defeated. "We've lost over $100K from two vehicles and vital tools, but not our passion for planting and protecting trees." Please consider making donation today. donations; TreeFolks press release ❦

Learn all about "summer citrus essentials" tomorrow (August 10) at 10 a.m. at the Natural Gardener. Presenter Scott Blackburn (above) from New Garden Road will talk about how to grow grapefruits, kumquats, mandarins, oranges, lemons and limes. TNG ❦

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IN THE HEAT OF SUMMER: as the roasting of August arrives, a few tips from some experts, including Austin's own Christine Ten Eyck. Gardenista ❦

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WATERMELON GAZPACHO: a refreshing choice for the dog days of summer. Blend together a cucumber, tomatoes, red bell pepper with 4 cups of seedless watermelon, and chill. love & lemons ❦

THE AUSTIN GARDEN relies entirely on support from its readers. Please consider making a donation to support this bi-monthly publication. Whether an annual or monthly donation, all are welcomed. (At the moment only 5% of readers support this publication) Many thanks in advance. PayPal link ❦

Green Burial: a Natural

Choice for Gardeners?

by Darrel Mayers

“I could ask for no better monument over my grave than a good mesquite tree, its roots down deep like those of people who belong to the soil, its hardy branches, leaves and fruit holding memories of the soil.” — J. Frank Dobie

Campo de Estrellas is a 9-acre green burial cemetery 40 miles southeast of Austin. Funeral director Sarah Wambold and her staff connect with ancient burial traditions, essentially giving the body of the deceased to the soil, for the benefit of the earth. An interview with Sarah.

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Hi Sarah. Can you tell readers a little bit about what they might expect if they choose to be buried at Campo de Estrellas?

If you have ever visited a state park, that will give you a sense of what you can expect at Campo de Estrellas. The land is not overly-manicured and feels like walking through a nature preserve. (see photo above)

Burials at Campo de Estrellas are all natural, which means we do not use a grave liner (concrete vault) in the grave, nor do we allow for bodies to be embalmed before they are buried.

We allow for natural material containers like wooden or fiber caskets or shrouds to cover the body before placing them in the grave. We do allow for graves to be hand-dug. However it's quite a strenuous process and typically we use our cemetery service to open the grave ahead of time, as is done in a conventional cemetery.

Our graves are marked by flat field stones and any native plants a family wishes to plant. The landscape at our cemetery is also very natural.

We have mowed roads and walking paths that wind through a pasture of mesquite, cedar and pine trees, native prairie grass and wildflowers. The ground is somewhat uneven, so we suggest comfortable shoes when visiting or holding a service.

We have a pavilion in the center of the cemetery for holding services and to provide shade for anyone visiting. We also have several benches around the grounds for rest and reflection. (video )

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In a recent talk, you spoke of three principles of your venture. Can you outline those for readers?

Our cemetery was founded with three principles in mind: environment, education and alternatives.

The environment is paramount to our project, as we wanted to protect and rewild the land, while also providing a meaningful space for others to connect with nature.

We also wanted to provide education by conducting webinars and workshops to familiarize people with natural burial since it is not a well-understood option. Our workshops give a history of the land, go in depth into the legal aspects of this type of burial and then invite participants to join us in a hands-on demonstration of shrouding a body and processing it to a grave.

Last but not at all the least, we wanted to provide a burial alternative, by offering affordable options for families dissatisfied with conventional burial.

One option, I understand, is for the deceased to wear an “infinity mushroom burial suit.” What exactly is that?

The Mushroom Burial Suit, designed by Jae Rhim Lee (above), is a biodegradable suit infused with mushroom spores to perform mycoremediation on the body. (Click here for details and Ted Talk)

The suit uses mycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi to detoxify the body and enrich the surrounding soil. Popularized by actor Luke Perry's burial in 2019, the suit has also sparked interest in natural burial practices in general.

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If a gardener chooses to be buried at Campo de Estrellas, I imagine everything has to be set up ahead of time — for one thing to stop the formaldehyde embalming process.

We do advocate for making plans ahead of time as it allows families to have the discussions and make plans well in advance of the death occurring which will alleviate so much stress when the time comes.

That said, natural burial can be done on an at-need basis, like any other burial, and like any other burial, there needs to be a plot purchased, arrangements for body preparation and how to get the body to the cemetery.

You can call us to purchase the plot. For the body preparation and transportation, you can use the assistance of a funeral home.

You simply just ask that the body not be embalmed and held in refrigeration before the burial takes place. We are luckily at a point now where most funeral homes are familiar with this type of burial and will comply with the family's wishes.

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Are people able to visit for a tour of Campo De Estrellas?

Yes! We love to have visitors. You can reach out to us at inquiries@campodeestrellas.co or call at 414-416-9840 to arrange a visit. We recommend coming early in the morning during the summer months because it is very hot by noon!

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Can you share some details about cost?

We offer plots for humans, pets and cremated remains. Human burials are available in a single plot for $1800 and double plots for $2600. Pet plots are $1800 and cremated remains plots are $500.

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Thank you very, very much Sarah! ❦

Camino de Estrellas website