Pocono News Section

New Cemetery Offers an Eco-Friendly Burial

New Cemetery Offers an Eco-Friendly Burial - Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 3:51PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2008 @ 03:51pm EST
CRESCO - It seems everything in life is going green these days. Now there's a way to go green in death.

The woods of the Pocono Plateau gave Sandra Kreiss Schmidt so much comfort in life that she wants to stay there forever, even after she dies.

She said, "It's a special place for me for all my life."

She's visited the Pocono Plateau Camp every summer for thirty years. Quiet walks in the woods helped her heal from a tough divorce and find the strength to raise a child alone.

"This place has been my sanctuary," she said.

Now those woods can be Sandra's sanctuary in life and in death. Part of the land was dedicated as an eco-eternity forest Wednesday.

Ashes are buried under trees so instead of headstones, small plaques mark final resting places.

Sandra said, "I think its wonderful. I think it's a real exciting thing."

"The entire process is earth friendly. Even the urns are biodegradable. They're made out of pressed cornstarch so once you put it into the earth it will dissolve in between one and three years."

Teri Hackman of Lancaster said, "This way your ashes are actually providing future growth and its not taking up land that is very valuable."

Terri wants to be laid to rest under one of the trees. She said traditional caskets and headstones take up too much land.

She explained, "It's just wasted in the ground for years and years and years."

She, like her friend Sandra, loves the idea of being laid to rest in a place that has already given her so much peace.

You can learn more about eco-friendly funerals at .