Category: Q&A

NH cemetery introduces a new kind of burial

Mel Bennett is the creator of Life Forest, a recently opened conservation cemetery in Hillsborough that provides burial plots for cremated remains, marked by memorial trees planted and maintained by staff tree experts.

What led you to create Life Forest?

My mom died [after] a long illness … and I had her cremains in my cabinet, like many people do. … I started reading about these burial pods where you could put cremains in a biodegradable container and plant a tree. … I loved the idea, but when I started doing more research I couldn’t find any cemeteries or places that would protect this tree. I felt like the responsibility of taking care of this tree was epic. What if I go on vacation? I’m going to have to hire someone to water my mom’s tree. What do I do if I want to move? … That’s when I started thinking, ‘I think people would want something like this.’

Is this a new idea?

We’re the first ones to do this anywhere. We’re the only legal cemetery that plants a tree above the cremains and legally protects both the tree and the legacy of the person. … This is a big shift in the death care industry. There’s always been this divide between traditional burial and green burial, but there are wonderful aspects of both, and we want to try to bridge that gap. We want to maintain the legal protection of legacy and ancestry and cemetery [land] that’s [associated with] traditional burial and incorporate the idea of environmental protection that’s [associated with] green burial.

How are the plots protected?

Headstones are protected under cemetery law. As we worked with our legal team, we realized that if we use a tree as a headstone, it’s a respected entity. It’s legally protected, meaning that nobody can ever cut it down or cut the branches, as long as it’s in a legal cemetery. … We also want to protect the legacy of the people who are buried there, so we record their vital statistics — full name, birth date and death date and latitude-longitude location of where they’re buried on the property — in the deed of the land. That’s really important, because that ensures that people will know where their loved ones are in future generations.

What’s the science behind this?

There’s a misconception being sold out there that cremains actually help plants grow, and that’s not true. … We’ve worked with quite a few environmental scientists to make sure that we’re doing this correctly … and in a way that’s not going to be detrimental to the tree. … You have to make sure there’s a buffer of at least 18 inches between the root ball of the tree and the cremains, and that you use a rich compost. After three years, the salty nature of the cremains will dissipate.

How are the plots marked?

We have a QR code placed at the base of the tree … and we help families create [virtual] memorial pages … with memories, pictures and video clips of their loved one. Then, you can scan that QR code, and it’ll bring up [the memorial page]. This gives people the opportunity to share an immense amount of personal things, ideas and representations of their loved one in the way that they would want to be remembered, without taking up a ton of space.

What kind of comfort does a memorial tree give people who have lost a loved one?

Instead of having a commemorative piece of granite that never changes, you have this tree that grows and changes and takes different forms every season. You can see its leaves and its flowers, and it’s a way of connecting with your loved one through a different type of life.

What’s the environmental benefit?

Instead of having these huge concrete vaults that are really not great for the environment, you’re planting a tree that is going to grow and give off quality air, and you’re creating a space with a more vivid [landscape].

What are your future plans for Life Forest?

We’re going to be working toward [forming] collaborations with conservation entities in order to expand our locations and availability to be accessible to more people, and so that people don’t have to travel too far to visit their loved ones.

Featured photo: Mel Bennett. Photo by Millyard Studios.

The Phoenix to offer recovery support, sober activities

The Phoenix is a nonprofit that cultivates free, organized sober activities within a supportive community for people in recovery. SRecently it announced plans to bring its programs to New Hampshire, starting this summer. The Phoenix New England Regional Director Sydney Durand talked about the upcoming expansion.

What kinds of programs does The Phoenix offer for people in recovery?

The Phoenix is really focused on this message of hope, with the idea that when you’re sober and in recovery your life should get so much bigger. … Our programs are sober active events, like yoga, rock climbing, strength-based fitness, surfing … that people can do actively together outdoors and in public spaces.

What sets The Phoenix apart from other activity-based recovery programs?

Accessibility and inclusivity; we eliminate as many barriers as possible for people in recovery to access a safe, supportive, healing environment. Our programs are completely free and open to anyone [who has maintained] at least 48 hours of continuous sobriety. … Another huge part of what we do is stigma reduction. We have members who are really proud about their recovery and talk openly about their past substance use and their sobriety, so we’re really trying to eliminate any shame people may have.

How has The Phoenix adapted its programs for a pandemic world?

In March 2020 we launched a virtual platform. … The great thing about that was we were able to connect with a lot of people who [lived in] parts of the country where we didn’t [offer] programs, so people from New Hampshire have been able to [participate in] our virtual programming. We now have more than nine hours of free programming every day that anyone can join virtually. … We’ve created prerecorded content [too], like workout videos, so people can … see what Phoenix is like [before joining a live program], because it can be pretty intimidating to come into a group of sober people, even virtually, especially when you’re new to recovery. … We’ve been able to start doing in-person events again, but now we also have the virtual and on-demand [programs] that people can join at any time.

What led to The Phoenix’s upcoming expansion to New Hampshire?

A combination of the need — New Hampshire is one of the hardest-hit per-capita states with the opioid crisis — and our partnerships. We have some partners … who live in New Hampshire who also see the need in the state … who have supported this expansion financially.

What programs will The Phoenix offer in New Hampshire initially?

A lot of that is to be determined … as we build relationships and form connections. We want our programming to be informed by the community. … Are there areas where there are sober houses or treatment centers, but not a lot of activities around? … We do know that we … want to do a lot of activities outdoors and use the natural resources that are so abundant in New Hampshire.

How will The Phoenix tailor these programs to meet New Hampshire’s unique needs?

We’re looking, first, at Manchester and Nashua and other communities with higher population densities, because they’ve been hit particularly hard with folks experiencing substance use disorder. Our strategy is to start programs in those communities, where we can offer support to [the largest number of people], as soon as possible. At the same time, we know there are rural parts of New Hampshire that need support, too, so we are also working on making Phoenix programs accessible to them … by getting them connected through virtual options … and by getting volunteers trained throughout the state.

Featured photo: Sydney Durand