It is still common to hear people say just bury me under the lemon tree in the backyard. Trouble is it’s not going to happen. It’s at best wishful thinking.

It is possible with a good deal of planning to perhaps bury someone and have a tree planted in their honour, either at the burial site or some other place as a memorial.

Cynthia Beal who runs the Natural Burial Company has written a post on her website titled: “Be a Tree: The Natural Burial Guide for Turning Yourself into a Forest”.

We’ve included a brief overview by extracting these headings:

Dying to Do the Right Thing
Driving the Change: Land Stewardship, Home Funeral Services, and “Green” Grave Goods
New product companies fill real needs with style
When it’s Time to Leave no Trace
Minimize Impacts, Plan, and Respect
Should We be Burying this Stuff?
Natural Burial: The Traditional Alternative
Preserve, Disappear, or Reintegrate
Preservation: It’s Not All it’s Cracked Up to Be
Disappear: To Burn or Not to Burn
Reintegration: Making the Case for a Biological Return
All We Leave is Energy
What You Need for a Natural Burial
What’s in the Box (Besides You)
The Healer’s Maxim: “First, Do No Harm”
Natural Burial Grounds Come in All Shapes and Sizes
The Ultimate Back-to-the-Land Movement
Soil: The Living Web
The Home Funeral Movement: Genesis of Natural Burial