What are green burials?

Green burials are designed to reduce environmental impacts and ensure a legacy of protecting the land where those who passed are laid to rest. They emphasize sustainability and simplicity, and offer you the chance to continue a lifetime of caring for the environment as part of your loved one’s last wishes.
The City of Lethbridge is proud to be the first municipality in Alberta to offer a Green Burial option. Grasslands at Royal View Memorial Cemetery was completed in December 2019. Download Green Burial Brochure
​Green burials were introduced at Prairie Sky Cemetery in Calgary in 2021.
https://www.calgary.ca/csps/parks/cemeteries/Green-burials-Prairie-Sky-Cemetery.html

Five principles of a green buriaL

  1. No embalming - Green burials are completed without the use of embalming chemical agents. Decomposition is thought of as nature’s way of returning a body back to the earth. Families who choose green burial find peace of mind knowing their loved one’s remains are interred with minimal environmental impacts.
  2. Direct to earth burial - Remains are wrapped in a natural, biodegradable shroud and buried directly into the earth. A fully degradable casket or container that ideally is locally sourced, may be used. No outside grave liners or protective vaults are permitted.
  3. Ecological restoration and conservation. The natural ecology is preserved by planting native plants and shrubs that integrate the interment area into the ecosystem. Visitors are encouraged to stay on carefully designed walking pathways and use memorial benches when visiting loved ones.
  4. Communal memorialization - Following the ideals of simplicity and environmental protection, individual memorials and decorations are not permitted on the site. At Prairie Sky Cemetery they have established a beautiful granite memorial with plaques for families to inscribe names, dates and short epitaphs. This leaves the Prairie Sky green burial section as a living memorial for loved ones interred there.
  5. Optimized land use- At the Prairie Sky Cemetery in Calgary, The City designed the green burial interment area to maximize the number of grave spaces, including minimal landscaping and infrastructure. Bodies are interred in the next available plot, rather than using pre-selected or reserved plots. This allows minimal disruption to the land and surrounding environment, aiding in its return to a natural state.

Green Burial Cemeteries in Alberta

Fort McMurray Cemetery
Natural Woodland Burial Ground
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Fort McMurray, AB T9H 2K4
780-598-7749
www.rmwb.ca/living/Services-and-Utilities/Cemeteries.htm

Grasslands Green Burial Grounds
Royal View Memorial Cemetery
Natural Cemetery
Lethbridge AB T1J 0P6
​Hiroshi.okubo@letbridge.ca
403-320-4201
www.lethbridge.ca/NewsCentre/Pages/Green-Burial.aspx

Lakeview Cemetery
​Hybrid Cemetery
Slave Lake, AB T0G 2A0
780-849-8012, 780-849-8000
www.slavelake.ca/Facilities/Facility/Details/Lakeview-Cemetery-35

Meadows of Rosehill
Natural Burial section
Edmonton, AB T6W 1A3
780-434-5433
www.rosehillcemetery.ca/burial/

Southeast Cemetery
Hybrid Cemetery (ready in 2020)
Calgary, AB
CalgaryCemeteries@calgary.ca
403-221-3660
www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Cemeteries/Southeast-Cemetery.aspx

The Meadows of Rosehill Cemetery
​Hybrid Cemetery
Edmonton, Alberta, T6W 1A3
780-434-5433
www.stmichaels-rosehill-cemetery.com/rosehill-greenburialsection.html