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Project Statement

Alaska Natural Burial is a non-profit that is in the process of establishing a natural burial cemetery in the foothills of the Chugach Mountains in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Natural burial is a method of inhumation that allows for decomposition of both body and materials utilized in the funeral and burial process. Although natural burials have been practiced for thousands of years, western burial methods have been normalized to include the use of vaults, liners, embalming, and mausoleums that do not encourage any decomposition process. Natural burial sites aim to harmonize with the local ecosystem, conserve land for wildlife and habitat, and provide more affordable burial opportunities. 

It is Alaska Natural Burial's mission to provide natural interment services that minimize environmental impact and serve a higher conservation purpose. As highlighted on their website "Alaska Natural Burial will seek to meet or exceed the standards set forth by the Green Burial Council to become a certified Conservation Burial Ground. In doing so, Alaska Natural Burial will provide Anchorage with much needed cemetery infrastructure while engaging in sustainable land stewardship."

​The Conservation Burial Alliance and Green Burial Council (linked above) have great information and links to existing conservation cemeteries elsewhere in the country.

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This project was in conjunction with Alaska Natural Burial and its founder Rachel Bernhardt.  

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