Death isn’t an option for the living, but there will soon be more — and greener — options for the final departure in Squamish.
As the District of Squamish works on a Cemetery Master Plan, it is also drafting a questionnaire for the public on options for interment at the Mount Garibaldi Cemetery on Government Road in Brackendale.
One of those options is a Scattering Garden, a designated area in a cemetery where cremated remains are placed directly in the ground and the name inscribed on a communal plaque.
District will create specific procedures for how the remains will be scattered.
For example, at the Royal Oak Cemetery in Saanich on Vancouver Island, a small hole is dug in which the remains are placed, and then refilled by the cemetery staff.
A rock marker is then placed just below the surface to ensure that more remains will not be placed in that same location.
The garden is also surveyed and mapped to show the locations of individual remains.
Families may choose to “scatter” all or a portion of their loved one’s remains in the scattering garden.
Another option for which district will seek public’s comments is the Green Burial, a natural and environment-friendly option.
In this burial, the body is not embalmed and is placed in a biodegradable shroud or casket without a liner or vault. Trees, shrubs, and meadow plants are planted and nothing more is done.
Eventually, nature takes over.
District staff met with Royal Oak Burial Park management in Victoria who have been doing green burials since 2008. They have over 200 green burials plus over 200 scatterings in the scatter gardens.
At Royal Oak, they do one green burial for every five conventional ones, according to the district report.
Staff recommend considering green burials as part of the future cemetery expansion, and will be seeking public input on this.
Meanwhile, at a council meeting last month, the council gave staff the go-ahead to consider increasing cemetry fees by 75 per cent. The increased fees would be $4,196 for full burial interment in Squamish, although nothing has been finalised yet.
Currently the Mount Garibaldi Cemetery utilizes approximately only one-third of the property, with the remaining two-thirds being just forest, staff noted.
The Cemetery Master Plan will review population and mortality rates projections and decide on options for interment after a public engagement process.
The plan will likely come before council this year, and district has yet to formally announce a public engagement on the green options for interment.
