What’s in a Name
Written by Gary Holdgrafer
A name is a critical part of identity. It creates assumptions and expectations in those who hear and use the name. Names and nick names for children, pets, community events and properties can be inspired by features that make the names meaningful. They can also infuse referents with meaning. A name is an introduction into the community. What a newborn child is called is often the first question asked.
Hearing the name “cemetery” can immediately call to mind a landscaped and well tended area with grave sites marked with tombstones and decorated with flowers. It is a special and easily recognizable location in a community. The Gabriola Cemetery on South Road was established long ago with a dedicated area for our pioneers.
There are many names for existing cemeteries. A survey revealed that “Evergreen” is one of the most common. It can be interpreted as implying the continuation of life everlasting. It reflects our societal discomfort with death, as does the name “Resurrection Cemetery”.
There are an increasing number of natural burial cemeteries. Two are on Denman and Salt Spring Islands. They are located in nature, often in wilderness, and allowed to”re-wild” or return to their natural state following a “green burial”. They are the opposite of a traditional groomed cemetery. The term “natural burial cemetery” might be considered a contradiction in terms or an oxymoron.
GGBEC has recently completed visioning sessions facilitated by Fay Weller of Island Futures. There was much discussion of what to name a natural burial site on Gabriola Island once land is secured. Following suit with Denman and Salt Spring Islands, it would naturally be the Gabriola Island Natural Burial Cemetery.
Erik Lees of the Green Burial Society of Canada has advised us not to call it a cemetery. We agree with good reasons. It avoids the contradiction in terms explained above and the confusion of two community properties called cemeteries. The name will draw a clear distinction between the two. The name should be unique to Gabriola Island rather than duplicating the examples of Denman and Salt Spring Islands. It might also reflect the creativity abundant on this Isle of the Arts.
The working name is currently Gabriola Natural Burial Garden. A natural garden is populated by existing native plant life with its own inherent wild beauty in a peaceful environment.
Our vision is a Garden of Spirit. Spirit or spiritual is a concept with many personal perspectives. It has been described generally as a sense of connection to something larger than ourselves in the universal human experience of searching for meaning.
A Garden of Spirit is intended to reflect fundamental values that are integral to the Gabriola Island narrative. It means a place of peace and natural beauty for visitors, creating a spiritual experience of connection with the larger whole of community, care of the land and island history. The spirit of those interred there will continue to exist in our communal memorialization and in community commemorative events. That is what’s in this name.
Our email address is naturalcemeterygabriola@gmail.com.
GGBEC was established at the request of Island Futures (IF) to explore the possibility of a green or natural burial cemetery on Gabriola with the support of IF.
