Green, Organic and Healthy Living Articles

A QUIET REVOLUTION AT SUNSET HILLS by Larry K. Fried

Drive into Sunset Hills Cemetery in the south hills of Eugene and you wouldn’t necessarily notice anything special. But first impressions can be deceptive. “There is only 8.5 acres,” according to Sunset Hills owner and funeral director Wade Lind, “so we are a very small cemetery.” I spent a little time talking with Wade as he pointed out the changes he has made to the cemetery since he and his partner took ownership just a few years ago. Wade has had the specific intention of transforming Sunset Hills into a natural burial site, providing a complete range of “green” disposition and memorial services. Wade pointed to a young tree planted on one natural burial site. “She wanted to be an apple tree,” he explained of the woman now interred there. That apple tree is that grave’s sole marker and one of more than a hundred trees the new management has planted thus far, with many more trees to come.
 
Recently a Buddha has been added to one section on the hillside, reflecting the diversity of people who will come to rest here – people of all faiths and no faith are all welcome. There is an area under development for natural pet burial as well. “Cremation has for a long time been viewed as the greenest form of body disposition,” Wade explained, “but natural burial is by far the most sustainable.” It returns the entire body back to the earth to be utilized.

Whether for religious, cost or other reasons, for those still inclined to use cremation, Sunset Hills offers a particularly green cremation service. They have installed a highly energy-efficient crematorium that recaptures both heat and pollutants. And if the family wants, the ashes are returned in a biodegradable bag inside a cardboard box. Perhaps the greatest visual cue that something is truly different at Sunset Hills is the pedal-powered hearse parked in the lobby of the mortuary. “It’s the only one in the country,” Wade gently boasts.