Penn Forest Natural Burial Park offers a 'green' final resting place

There’s a way to bring death down to earth.

Penn Forest Natural Burial Park in Penn Hills offers eco-burial options for those seeking an environmentally conscious final resting place.

Pennsylvania’s first exclusively green cemetery, co-founders Nancy Chubb and Pete McQuillin purchased land in 2010 to create Penn Forest, a natural area and cemetery. They reside onsite in a remodeled historic 1862 residence.

Green burial, or natural burial, is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact. The main requirements for a green burial: caskets or burial shrouds must be biodegradable, embalming fluids are prohibited and burial vaults are not used.

Grave markers are optional, but if desired, must be flat into the ground and crafted from local stone or wood.

Pennsylvania law requires Penn Forest to maintain meticulous records of precise burial locations and graves dug have at least 3 feet of soil cover, a foot more than a state law requiring 2 feet of soil.

“We didn’t know anything about cemeteries before we started this,” McQuillin says. “We learn as we go with a lot of help from friends and experts.”

‘Burial in the woods’

The cemetery encompasses 35 acres close to Oakmont and Verona, bordered by Plum Creek and bears little resemblance to a traditional cemetery.

You won’t find manicured lawns, rows of headstones, mausoleums or ornate statues here.

“This is burial in the woods,” McQuillin says.

Trails, trees, meadows, a working barn with animals and a 10-acre permanent nature preserve place nature first.

McQuillin says about half of the burials at Penn Forest consist of the deceased being buried in cotton/linen shrouds, or in something biodegradable— like pine, willow, wicker or bamboo boxes.

McQuillin and his wife formed Green Burial Pittsburgh Inc. in 2008, inspired by their mutual desire to have green burials themselves in Pennsylvania.

A 200-year master plan is in place, ensuring the cemetery’s longevity, and a detailed forest restoration plan is in effect, with only native Pennsylvania species of plants and trees planted.

Assistant manager Laura Faessel and her ancestors will continue the cemetery legacy.

Faessel has a degree in environmental studies from Slippery Rock University and says visitors are surprised by the amenities at Penn Forest.

“We have gardens, the farm animals, composting from the barn waste, aquaponics, beehives, willow and berry patches, yoga with goats and hiking trails,” Faessel says.

And since pesticides aren’t allowed at green cemeteries, resident goats and sheep routinely graze the property, maintaining the grounds. “They get rid of the poison ivy,” McQuillen says.

Dr. James Greenberg of Squirrel Hill purchased two lots at Penn Forest and laid his wife Linda to rest in March 2018 in a tree-laden wooded spot. “I’ve been interested in the green burial movement for years,” Greenberg says. “My wife Linda had a long chronic illness.”

Greenberg chose a biodegradable, cardboard box adorned with a Star of David for his late wife. Her Penn Forest graveside service was officiated by a rabbi, with family and friends in attendance.

“It’s more of a happy place than a sad place,” Greenberg says. “The response from others is that they haven’t heard of it (green burial) before and how wonderful it is.”

Growing interest

Green burials are on the rise nationally, and yes, they are perfectly legal.

Since 2006, the number of green burial cemeteries has grown from one to more than 340 in North America.

There is no law requiring a burial vault be used and embalming is only required under rare conditions, such as death from cholera.

“Our sales are doubling every year and people have discovered it,” McQuilian says. Currently, about 100 individuals have been interred at Penn Forest, and about 1,500 sites are available.

Penn’s Forest lots range in price from $600-$2,400, depending on size and type.

A “Treemation” burial option is popular and includes planting a tree of one’s choice on the cremated remains of a loved one for $1,200.

Burial (interment) fees are charged and may fluctuate in price, with body burial fees ($1,800) costing more than cremated ($500) remains.

It’s legal in Pennsylvania to hold a funeral service without a funeral director and at Penn Forest families are encouraged to personalize their funeral wishes. “Some people even help dig their loved one’s grave,” McQuillin says.

Details: 412-265-4606, 412-265-4606 or PennForestCemetery.com

Joyce Hanz is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.