NATURAL BURIAL

Natural (or Green) burial emphasizes simplicity and environmental sustainability. Hillside Cemetery was established in 1818 on the same ideology that is found in the natural burial movement today. A natural burial at Hillside is placed into a grave that is approximately four feet in depth and not lined with a concrete box or vault. Everything going into the grave must be biodegradable. These grave sites are located in Cedar Meadow, a natural field and with mature trees.  Headstones are not permitted however memorialization in a designated area is encouraged. Please contact the office for more information.

CEDAR MEADOW, a Native Field

This field has been designated for natural burial only. Burials are sequential, meaning the newest burial will be next to the last one. This is to preserve the integrity of the field. Cedar Meadow is mown once a year to keep invasive trees and shrubs at bay.

A Place to Reflect

Granite benches surround the majestic cedar tree at the base of the meadow. This offers one a place for remembrance and contemplation. You will enjoy the sounds of nature, singing birds, humming insects, and swaying grasses and flowers. In winter you will see many wildlife tracks in the snow.

Pollinator Pathway

Hillside Cemetery is a stop on the state designated Pollinator Pathway. This initiative started in 2017 to create landing spots that provide a native plant habitat and nutrition for pollinator insects and birds. Volunteers and Scouts sow new pollinator plants each year.

For a copy of Hillside’s Hybrid Burial Ground Maintenance & Operations Manual please click here.

“Green burial seeks to return one’s remains to the earth, as directly and simply as possible. Such a natural return is little more than a return to long tradition. Much of what constitutes green burial was once standard practice in this country, the default, not the exception. The goal then and now is the same: to allow the body at death to rejoin the elements it sprang from, to use what remains of a life to regenerate new life, to return dust to dust.” Mark Harris, environmental journalist and author