Natural Burial

A natural return to the earth

Natural burial is becoming increasingly popular as a way to lessen one’s environmental footprint. With this form of burial the body is allowed to return to the earth as naturally as possible – without embalming and in biodegradable caskets, urns or shrouds.

A tranquil, peaceful setting

While natural burial has existed for hundreds of years in Europe, it was not available in the GTA until 2012 when we opened the first natural burial grounds at Meadowvale Cemetery in Brampton.  In addition to our Meadowvale location we now have a second natural burial section at Duffin Meadows Cemetery in Pickering.

Our definition of Natural Burial

Natural burial can be defined in many ways.  For our purposes we have taken into account the health and safety of our staff and visitors to the cemetery while providing a natural alternative for those seeking an environmentally conscious approach to ground burial. Our natural burial grounds are designed to let nature take its course with natural grasses and self-seeding wildflowers. To promote a “tread-free” mindset and encourage people to stay off the graves, the grounds are left to grow freely.  Additionally, we do not permit placing tokens of remembrance, such as teddy bears, photographs or flowers on the graves.  As an alternative, a central memorial feature area provides a peaceful vantage point to pay respects. 

Interment Rights

Interment rights are available in our natural burial sections. They consist of single graves that can accommodate one casket and one biodegradable urn with ashes, or two biodegradable urns of ashes. Scattering ashes is not permitted in these sections.