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17th Apr 2005

'NATURAL' FUNERALS SPECIALIST HITS CHRISTCHURCH

Christchurch Press

Dying for a native bush view? Natural funerals specialist Mark Blackham, of Wellington, is your man.

He is looking for Christchurch land to use for his natural burials, which feature shallow graves, shrouds or untreated pine coffins, and native trees instead of tombstones.

Mr Blackham's company, Natural Burials, will start interment in Wellington in June, and is now looking to other centres.

He wants to hear from Christchurch landowners with about 10ha with a "nice aspect".

"It has to have the potential to be picturesque -- somewhere people feel would be a beautiful spot to be for their last resting place," he said.

In a natural burial, bodies were buried less than a metre deep and were not embalmed. They would decompose within 10 years, "providing 12 basic nutrients to the soil", he said. This compared to about 100 years for traditional burials.

A tree would be planted over each body, with the idea of regenerating native bush.

Mr Blackham said it was a much better option than cremation, which released pollutants to the atmosphere.

A natural burial site would also solve Christchurch's problem of diminishing cemetery space, Mr Blackham said.

Christchurch City Council staff reported to a full council meeting last week that six of Christchurch's 12 council-managed cemeteries were closed or had reached capacity.

Tony Garing, secretary of the New Zealand Funeral Directors' Association's local committee, said burial sites in Christchurch were becoming increasingly limited and the association would welcome eco-cemeteries as another option.

"At the moment we don't get a lot of inquiries about it, but it would give people another option," he said.

About 70 percent of people chose to be cremated.

"Most of our families that choose cremation do so because of the perception that it's cleaner," he said.

"There's no need to frequently visit and maintain a headstone. And people want to use land for the living rather than the dead."

Cost was also a factor, with cremation in Christchurch costing between $420 and $570. Burial costs included $753 for a single council plot and an interment fee of between $488 and $740.

Natural burials would cost between $1000 and $2000, including a contribution to a trust fund to restore and maintain the regenerated bush.