Gabriola Island Memorial Society Continues Work to Establish a Natural Burial Site on Gabriola Island.
Written by Elfi Dillon-Shaw & Kristina Baerg
After several years of exploratory work the Gabriola Green Burial Exploration Committee (GGBEC) became an official not-for-profit society and is renamed the Gabriola Island Memorial Society (GIMS). GIMS incorporated in August 2022 and is currently inviting new members to join. GIMS will be holding their first Annual General Meeting this fall.
GIMS Board members and volunteer supporters are working to find suitable land and to co-create, along with nature and community, a natural burial site on Gabriola Island. After more than 100 years of service, the Gabriola Community Cemetery is slowly reaching capacity for full body burials and showing signs of erosion. The need for a new burial site is clear and GIMS has heard from the community avid support for the new site being a green one.
Through research and visiting other natural burial sites, GIMS members imagine a site that not only serves as a peaceful resting place for community members but will also provide a green space where local flora and fauna can thrive in the stillness of sacred land. GIMS mandate is to serve the area of Gabriola, Mudge, and Decourcy Islands and the members of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Residents, former residents and their family members as well as SFN members will be able to choose natural burial at the GIMS site.
A natural burial site generally looks very different from the image most people have of a cemetery; rather than having headstones placed in a flat field of grass, natural cemeteries use forested areas or seek to reforest areas using only native species. Most offer a central place of remembrance like a memorial wall or may use small individual markers sourced from the property. Ideally trails for walking, spaces for sitting in reflection, and a small covered space for gathering will be included in the Gabriola site.
GIMS officially started signing up members in June of this year. Membership is available to anyone and is a one-time fee of $10. Becoming a member enables folks to receive email updates, attend and vote at the AGM, and stand for election to the Board of Directors. GIMS has a lot of work ahead and welcomes anyone interested in volunteering their time and skills to get in touch. Additionally, if you would like to support GIMS through a financial gift - a one-time or monthly donation, or a potential gift of land or charitable bequest - please email: naturalburialgabriola@gmail.com.
Currently GIMS is unable to issue charitable tax receipts but is in the process of applying for charitable status with the CRA and hope to have that in 2024.
If you would like to receive email updates from GIMS without joining as a member you can email and ask to be added to their contact list or find them at a community market. They love meeting people and having conversations about green burial and they often have a table at the Silva Bay and Agi Hall markets. GIMS plans to host more community information sharing and consultation sessions this fall.
