The Green Funeral Company

Info:  The Green Funeral Company was founded in 2000 to offer an ecological alternative to traditional funerals. Since then we have helped hundreds of people through the traumatic days following a death and together we have created appropriate, emotionally rewarding funerals.

We started The Green Funeral Company in 2000, and for the first 9 years we ran it from our home in Cornwall. We have now moved our home to Totnes, and our business to Dartington Hall Estate.

Whilst none of us come from traditional funeral backgrounds, we were moved to become funeral directors through our beliefs and experience of bereavement and its aftermath.

Rupert spent much of his childhood in the hospice where his mother worked, and the caring humanistic philosophy of the hospice movement is central to our work.

In the nine years we have been doing this work, we have become more confident about our approach and it’s results. We proudly call ourselves undertakers so there is no ambiguity about what we do. When we first meet you, we are unlikely to be wearing suits. We do not have a fleet of hearses and limousines. We do not employ bearers. We do not have a standard funeral, we do not use euphemisms. We do not consider faux-Victoriana and a mournful expression to be an assurance of respect and dignity. That is not to say we are unable to produce a traditional funeral spectacular; we have buried Generals and Lords, but we approach each funeral as unique. What is at the core of our work is honesty, acceptance, and participation, even if that is just helping us to carry the coffin. In doing so, all of us become less of an audience and more of a congregation.

We are experienced in the complicated dynamics that result from tragic young deaths, the way modern families are, the need for all to be heard and the deep, deep wounds that these deaths can produce. It is in the crucible of such events that our beliefs and working practice have been forged.

The Natural Burial Company

Info:  The Natural Burial Company was formed in 1998 to develop and manage natural burial grounds, which will enhance the environment and provide a more natural alternative to traditional cemeteries.

The Company's Board of Directors brings together a partnership of organisations and individuals with complementary skills and experience.

The Natural Death Centre

Info:  The Natural Death Centre is unique in providing the only independent funeral advice service in the UK. We provide information on all types of funeral choices, but are especially known for advice & support on family-organised, environmentally-friendly funerals, and Natural Burial Grounds.

For many years the NDC has managed to operate on a small budget, but this summer hit financial difficulties. Thanks to the great efforts of volunteers and very generous donations received, the Natural Death Centre has now achieved financial stability. The Centre will be relaunched early new year with a new management and trustee team - watch this space for details! In the meantime, your donations are always welcome and appreciated.

Westall Park - Natural Burial Ground

Info:  Westall Park aim to create a place which those who wish to remember their loved ones will want to visit, not out of a sense of duty, but from the pleasure and peace of mind it can provoke. Westall Park is a place for quiet reflection, in an informal setting amongst trees, wild flowers and wildlife.

Set in one of the most attractive locations of any woodland burial in the country, Westall Park is located midway between Worcester and Stratford -Upon -Avon, near the village of Inkberrow and is approached via a landscaped entrance and a quarter mile private drive. There are superb views of the Worcestershire countryside stretching as far as the Brecon Beacons.

The guiding policy at Westall Park is of managed woodland burial in which the environmental benefits of natural renewal are balanced against the desire for long term remembrance. Westall Park does not follow any particular faith but in common with all beliefs we all wish our remains to be disposed of with dignity and without being a burden to those that we leave behind.

Green burial offers the most environmentally friendly and enduring form of interment and remembrance and are intended to progressively return to nature`s own cycle of renewal and care. Westall Park is strongly focused on ecological principles and to that end native trees and shrubs will be randomly planted around the park to create a mixture of wooded areas and open glades connected by a network of picturesque paths.

There are no headstones at Westall Park, plots can be marked instead with an optional wooden plaque. Visitors are encouraged to plant wild flowers in the grave areas to enhance the existing flower meadow.

Free from unnecessary regimentation, Westall Park will eventually become a woodland glade, full of nature where all wild creatures are encouraged to thrive.

Woodland Burial Parks

Info:  Woodland Burial Parks offer a natural and more meaningful alternative to traditional burial and cremation options and differ in many important ways from other woodland or green burial sites. Our burial parks are all set in mature woodland, home to a broad variety of wildlife and woodland plants, reinforcing the concept of the renewal of life. We are totally committed to maintaining the parks as areas of natural beauty and enhancing the biodiversity of the woodland. Woodland plots for burial or the interment or scattering of ashes, may be purchased in advance, or by relatives at the time of need.

We welcome people of all beliefs and denominations or none, and host meaningful services, religious or secular. A purpose-built award winning woodland hall is available for funeral services and the gathering hall is available for refreshments following the funeral. Setting new standards of excellence and personal service in woodland burials, we offer a woodland retreat for visitor shelter and wildlife information, toilet facilities, on-site transport, highly trained staff and assured security.

Woodland Burial Parks are the ideal places for anyone looking for a green funeral, a natural burial, an environmentally friendly funeral for themselves or for someone they love.

Woodland Burials

Info:  Our sympathetic and caring staff are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We provide a complete, thoroughly professional service and have all the necessary experience, knowledge and facilities to satisfy your wishes. No other funeral director is required.

As our commitment to the highest standards, Woodland Burials is a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors and can offer advice on what needs to be done when someone dies, from registering the death through to guiding you through all the options available for funeral arrangements and celebrating the memory of your loved one.

If you wish, we can also take care of all your other requirements including catering, newspaper notices, flowers and vehicles.

Woodlands of Rememberance

Info:  Woodland Burials offer an environmentally friendly, cost effective alternative to traditional burials, cemeteries and graveyards.