Natural Burial on Gabriola Island. The Future is Green.
We are working to establish a green burial and memorial park on beautiful Gabriola Island.
The Gabriola Island Memorial Society (GIMS) incorporated in August 2022 in response to community need for a new site on Gabriola Island for full body burials. After 140 years, our existing cemetery is nearing capacity. If a new site is not established now, residents who wish to have their final resting place near family and friends on Gabriola will be forced to choose cremation.
Green Burial
What is Green Burial?
Green burial, also known as natural burial or eco-burial, is an environmentally conscious approach to laying our loved ones to rest. It embraces the principles of ecological sustainability and aims to minimize the environmental impact typically associated with western burial practices.
Photo Credit: Green Burial Society of Canada
The Five Principles of Green Burial
The Green Burial Society of Canada identifies five principles of green burial:
No Embalming
Direct Earth Burial
Ecological Restoration & Conservation
Simple Memorialization
Optimized Land Use
Photo Credit: Denman Island Natural Burial Cemetery
A Vision for Gabriola
Green burial grounds look quite different from most cemeteries; they are often established in designated natural areas such as meadows or woodlands and don’t incorporate headstones or the manicured landscaping of conventional cemeteries. In some locations, Denman Island for example, their green cemetery is repopulating an area that was clear cut in the late 1990’s with indigenous plants and trees. Returning the landscape to its natural state is an important principle of green burial
In 2022, the Gabriola Island Memorial Society (GIMS) and the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust (GaLTT) began collaborating on an initiative to encourage the BC Government (specifically the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure - MoTI) to transfer title of the 40 acre Barrett Quarry land to the community for protection as public parkland and a natural burial site. In May 2024, a petition requesting action and signed by more than 1200 Gabriola residents, was tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
Click below to learn about our vision and progress.
