Lucies Farm Learns it's not Easy Being "Green"
"It's not easy being green," says cattle breeder Craig Walsh who, with wife Marjorie owns Lucies Farm Ltd, one of the U.K.'s premier sources for Japanese-style Scottish | Kobe beef . The Walshes are petitioning the planners at the Malvern Hills District Council to approve a "change of use" for their property for permission to create Lord's Wood -- a 'green' burial park.(www.luciesfarm.com)
(PRWEB) January 24, 2005 -- The Walshes are petitioning the planners at the
Malvern Hills District Council to approve a "change of use" for their property
for permission to create Lord's Wood -- a 'green' burial park.
The plan
to convert a private wood at Colletts Green in Powick, near Worcester, into
Lord's Wood has raised health and safety concerns among some area residents. "A
few people were quite vocal at a recent planning meeting," says Walsh, "but I
think if they had the facts their opinions would be quite different." He hopes
that an ad campaign aimed at area residents will dispel misinformation and
generate support for the burial park.
The complete planning application
and experts' reports can be viewed at www.luciesfarm.com/green --- and comments can be added on the
internet forum.
U.K. Leads the World
Great Britain is at the forefront
of the global green movement, Walsh says, noting that there are over 200 green
cemeteries in the U.K. versus only a handful in the U.S. Yet even though the
movement is growing rapidly, "there is still a tremendous amount of confusion
about just what green burial really is," he says.
The concept of a green
burial, says Walsh, is "natural simplicity." He is quick to point out that there
is no embalming. "That means nothing toxic or chemical is used that could get
into the ground." Fabric burial shrouds or simple, biodegradable coffins take
the place of caskets made of metal. An additional key distinction is that green
burial parks do not permit the use of concrete liners or vaults.
"The
concrete in liners prevents the ground above the coffin from settling
naturally," explains Walsh whose dedication to preserving the integrity of the
landscape is evident. Guided by advice from the Forestry Commission and
consultant geologists, he says he is confident there would be no risk of
spoiling the wood or polluting any water courses and plans to educate people
with an ad campaign in the Worcester Evening News and the Malvern
Gazette.
Death and Renewal
Walsh believes that green burial grounds
are "a valuable way for farmers and local authorities to encourage the
preservation of wildlife habitats and forests" where native trees, wild flowers
and animals are protected. "A portion of money paid for burial plots would be
ploughed back into the woodland," he says which will ensure the longevity of the
area and its natural inhabitants.
"Green burial grounds allow butterfly
colonies, grasshoppers, insects, bats, voles and owls to multiply," says Walsh.
And rather than an unnatural landscape of carefully manicured cemetery grounds,
"native plants and wildflowers are allowed to flourish," giving the burial
ground new "life" as a nature preserve.
"People take comfort in knowing
the bodies of their loved ones will decompose and become part of the 'circle of
life,'" says Walsh. "And although it will be a place of death in some ways, of
course, Lord's Wood will always be a self-renewing habitat for living
things."
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb200563.htm