How To Become A Tree When You Die
By: Tom Harries
Jul 29, 2022 | Green Funeral Practice
3 min readMany people like the idea that their body could be turned into a tree when they die. This is an idea that has become especially popular in recent years among people discussing their end-of-life wishes.
The appeal is clear and compelling. What many of these people are seeking is a return to nature. They want to give back to the earth that has given to them during their lifetimes. They also want a beautiful and enduring memorial, which connects them with loved ones.
This article looks at how soil transformation can help turn a body into a tree after death, providing all of these appealing elements.
Return to Nature With Soil Transformation
Soil transformation, also known as natural organic reduction or human composting, is an environmentally-friendly alternative to burial and cremation. Over a 45-day process a body is gently transformed into nutrient-rich soil.
Earth’s natural, carbon-neutral process produces a cubic yard of healthy soil. At the end of the process, families choose how much soil they would like returned - for scattering or planting.
The remainder is sent to our conservation sites where it is used for land restoration. The soil output is perfect for use in conservation projects, such as reforestation, soil erosion control and restoring challenged ecosystems.
Soil health is extremely important because soil filters water, provides nutrients to plants and animals, and captures carbon dioxide. The health can be tested by measuring the organic matter and the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The soil transformation process was specially designed to produce healthy soil that is rich in nutrients.
Becoming a Tree After Death
The Earth soil transformation process therefore presents two ways in which a body can ‘become a tree’.
First, families can use the soil that is returned to plant or nourish flowers or a tree, perhaps creating a small memorial garden. This provides a beautiful, physical memorial for family and friends to connect with, representing a continuation of life.
Second, the soil that is used on our conservation land is used to nurture, restore and conserve a beautiful corner of the Olympic Peninsula.
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Our land is surrounded by trees, including Giant Maple, Red Cedar and Douglas-fir, and we are planting further trees as part of our reforestation project. An individual who donates their soil to this project is truly returning themselves to nature, and making a meaningful contribution to the restoration of important land.
Soil transformation is therefore the funeral choice that most directly turns a person into a tree after death - more so than options like tree pod burial. Through soil transformation, a body is returned to nature in a purely positive way, nourishing and nurturing wildlife for years to come.
Funeral Choices and the Environment
With its ability to nurture trees and assist vital conservation work, soil transformation is a completely environmentally-friendly funeral option.
Not only is the end product an actively positive addition to the planet, the process itself is also natural and carbon neutral. Earth’s state-of-the-art facilities use 100% renewable energy, avoiding the air and soil pollution that cremation and burial create.
Traditional burial and cremation are highly pollutive and unsustainable practices. Cremation is a fossil fuel driven process with high carbon emissions and traditional burial is a resource-intensive process that consumes urban land at an unsustainable rate.
Those who choose soil transformation make a choice to protect and help the planet while simultaneously becoming closer to nature and the environment after death.
It is therefore the funeral option for nature lovers, conservationists and those concerned about their environmental impact.
Explore
At Earth, we specialize in soil transformation. If you are interested in giving back to the earth, read more about our human composting process and get an instant online quote.
You can also read about our conservation land and the restoration projects we are undertaking.