Colorado Burial Preserve has reached an agreement to serve as the first ever Memory Meadow location in the Memory Forest® program from the Living Urn and Biolife, LLC. A Memory Forest® is a new type of cemetery where a memory tree, flower, or shrub can be planted and professionally cared for as it grows from a Living Urn® containing a loved one's cremated remains. The designation of "Memory Meadow" was developed to reflect the need for local-adapted and climate-resilient plantings for memorial use- even where deciduous tree forests are not likely to thrive, the opportunity to restore natural ecosystem with cremated remains burial persists.
Mark Brewer, Biolife’s President, commented, “We’ve been exploring various opportunities to expand our reach in Colorado over the past year and we're extremely excited to reach an agreement with Colorado Burial Preserve – a beautiful natural burial ground and the first cemetery in Colorado dedicated to conservation. Families reach out to us daily who love the idea of a memorial in nature, but who don’t have a special place in mind to either have a tree memorial or bury or scatter a loved one’s ashes - they want a permanent site where they can do this. We’re excited that the Colorado Burial Preserve now provides a great option for families in Colorado.”
Brewer continues, “People are taking a fresh look at how they want to be memorialized after they pass. Over 75 million baby boomers will reach their average life expectancy over the next 25 years, and more than half of Americans who pass are now choosing cremation instead of burial. With Memory Forest and The Living Urn, along with Colorado Burial Preserve and our 28 other Memory Forest locations nationwide, we’re catering to this movement and providing an uplifting option and everything a person needs to preserve a natural space with their cremated remains. We’re giving people the ability to give back after they pass and also create a living memorial at a place of their choosing – we think that’s a beautiful thing.”
Owner of Colorado Burial Preserve, Emily B. Miller, added, "Conservation burial is the gold standard for environmentally friendly end-of-life options. When a family commits the Living Urn to the earth in the Preserve, they gain the legacy of a permanent final resting place and the assurance that it will be conserved for native habitat in perpetuity."
Cremation graves in the Preserve can accommodate up to four family members and include the option to engrave a locally-sourced native stone marker. After a burial, the spaces are enrolled in the Native Prairie Restoration program, and seeded with a customized blend of native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs. As the plant community and soil health are restored on the site, survivors get the peace of mind that their memorial choices are giving back to the earth.
Burial of biodegradable urns in a conservation setting answers many of the lingering questions regarding cremation. The carbon trapped by perennial plants' roots helps offset the CO₂ released during the cremation process. Family and friends receive the benefit of a permanent memorial site that can be visited, located in a nature preserve that benefits also wild animals, birds and pollinators.
