If we’re trying to live lightly on the earth, couldn't we plan for a greener death as well?  The Going Home Green group is learning about end-of-life practices that honor environment and community. We're reclaiming time-honored traditions, discovering new ones, and finding local and national resources: follow the links here. 

How would you like to live your last days? 

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Even if you already have an advance care directive, consider talking with those close to you about how you'd picture your final days, given the choice. Whether it's hospice or a healthcare setting, what might give you comfort?  Honoring Choices MN has ways to start the conversation, and Compassion and Choices MN has "tools to finish strong," including dementia considerations.

What about your care immediately after death?

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A funeral home can prepare the body, but you may have more choices and legal rights than you’re aware of— for example, the home funeral. Today, more families are choosing to care for the body at home and even  welcoming visitors: it's permitted for up to 3 days in Minnesota. There are legal and practical needs, too, so plan in advance to meet state regulations: read the health department's Choices booklet. You might consider a local guide such as Anne Murphy of A Thousand Hands, Angela Woosley of Inspired Journeys, or a faith group leader. The Funeral Consumers Alliance of MN has resources including a form for After Death Arrangements. 

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Body disposition: You have options

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Some local "hybrid cemeteries" now allow a version of green burial: you can skip embalming and use a shroud or biodegradable vessel instead of a casket and vault. These include Roselawn in Roseville, Mound in Brooklyn Center, Oak Hill in Minneapolis, and Resurrection in Mendota Heights. Families can take a hands-on approach to the burial ceremony, especially at Prairie Oaks Memorial Eco-Gardens in Inver Grove Heights, the metro's only natural burial ground. The Land Conservation Natural Burial Project is planning for an east-metro area where burials are part of the land stewardship program. Another resource is the Green Burial Council.

If you choose cremation, there’s a water-based process that emits a lot less carbon: in a few hours, alkaline hydrolosis ("water cremation") reduces a body to ashy fragments, similar to a flame cremation. Several area funeral homes now offer it, including Bradshaw. One option for disposition of ashes (of any type) is the Better Place Forest in Scandia, one of several memorial forests nationwide. If you consider body donation through the Mayo Clinic or University of Minnesota, note that the Mayo's process ends with alkaline hydrolysis, while the U's ends with flame cremation.  

There's also the natural organic reduction process pioneered by Recompose, which reduces the body to compost. It's been legalized in six states, and our legislature will consider it in 2024: see sidebar.