Green Burial, Memorial Gardens & the Practice of Reciprocity

In this 2.5-hour live workshop, death educator Erin Merelli and ecological designer Kendra Hoffman invite you to reimagine what happens after we die… and what can grow when we choose to return our bodies to the earth as a final act of love.

There was a time when our bodies returned to the earth simply, without much intervention. Before the industry of death and dying, we understood that we come from the earth, and we return to it when we’re done.

Together, we will explore the environmental and emotional impact of modern death care, and introduce meaningful alternatives such as green burial, water cremation, and natural organic reduction. You can live on as a tree (for real). 

You’ll learn how to create a memorial garden that touches the roots of your own grief, honors your loved ones, and offers a living place for remembrance. With green burial methods, memorial gardens can also nourish the soil. 

Rooted in the practice of reciprocity, this class asks a simple but powerful question:

What if your final act could be to feed life?

This workshop is for those who have loved and lost, for gardeners and land stewards, for death doulas and the death-curious, and for anyone seeking a more natural, meaningful return.

Included with your registration:

In addition to this expansive afternoon together, you will receive supportive tools to deepen your learning and help you carry this work forward:

• Walking Them Home: Death Doula 101 Training (recorded class from Erin)

• How to Build a Memorial Garden (step-by-step guide + PDF from Kendra)

What we’ll explore:

Together, we will walk through:

• Green Burial Practices

  • What it is, how it works, and why more people are choosing it

  • Environmental impacts of conventional burial vs. natural alternatives

• Memorial Gardens

  • Creating spaces of remembrance that are alive, seasonal, and evolving

  • How gardens can hold grief, memory, and ongoing relationship

• Reciprocity & Right Relationship

  • What it means to give back to the earth in death

  • Philosophical and cultural perspectives on death as contribution

• Personal Reflection & Connection

  • Why you are here

  • What calls you to this work

  • How your own life, grief, or curiosity connects to the land

Who this is for:

This space tends to call in:

• Gardeners and land stewards

• Farmers and earth-based practitioners

• Grievers and those who have loved and lost

• Death doulas and end-of-life caregivers

• Anyone questioning the way we currently do death

You do not need experience, only curiosity.

Details

Live Online Workshop
Length: 2.5 hours
Investment: Sliding Scale

A recording will be available after the session, but this offering is designed for live participation and connection.