I recently had the pleasure of being given a tour of the “Natural Burial” section of the town cemetery of the Hudson River Valley community of Rhinebeck, NY, by the cemetery’s administrator, Suzanne Kelly, Ph.D., an extraordinary woman who has been one of the nation’s most important thought leaders on “green burials.”

A scholar, farmer and writer, her 2015 book, Greening Death–Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring Our Tie to the Earth, traced the philosophical roots and practical underpinnings of the then burgeoning but now rapidly growing green burial movement in the U.S. Suzanne chaired the committee to form the 2nd municipally operated green burial ground in New York State, i.e., the site in Rhinebeck I toured with her, which opened in 2014. Kelly has been a recipient of the Green Burial Council’s Leadership Award, recognized for her “demonstrated foresight, innovation, and extraordinary commitment to the environment through sustainability and attainability in the area of human death care practices.”

One of the very cool things about Suzanne, besides her keen intelligence, gracious disposition and lively wit, is that she not only runs the town’s cemetery but also an organic farm and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) operation, Green Owl Farm, not far from the cemetery, so she is not only helping “green” death but also feeding the living, keeping them healthy with vibrant, fresh, organic produce (which, I have been told by members of said CSA, is some of the absolute best in the region).  

I visited the cemetery because I was considering purchasing a plot for myself (though, of course, I fervently hope it would be a reservation that would only require activation many years hence), and I got from Suzanne a sense of a deep commitment to the health of the land and to the sacredness of the site’s mission. I was profoundly impressed by her and left feeling hopeful that with visionaries of her ilk on the case, there is an excellent chance that a radical cultural shift in how our society deals with death will gain even more momentum in the years ahead.