Rewilding Forever at the Vermont Forest Cemetery
Michelle Hogle Acciavatti '05 spoke to The Bridge VT about Vermont's process of legalizing natural burial–done without caskets or embalming–and her role as founder and head cemeterian of the Vermont Forest Cemetery.
Reports The Bridge VT:
"She lies at the head of a path into the woods, deceased, supported by a low table and swathed in a white shroud adorned with images of nature. A homemade wreath of autumn leaves, ferns, and flowers has been placed upon her. Loved ones gather under a gray October sky, their conversation subdued, but not darkened, by the task before them. They are resolute. In a moment they’ll shepherd her — their mother, grandmother, great-aunt, friend — deeper into the woods to her burial site. Her time upon the earth has ended; her time within the earth, and of the earth, will begin."