PRUDENCE ISLAND — Prudence Memorial Park, located on Prudence Island, was certified this month by the Green Burial Council (GBC) as a natural burial ground. 

Natural burial is the interment of the body in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition, but allows the body to recycle naturally with minimal environmental impact.

Prudence Memorial Park is the first exclusively green cemetery in Rhode Island. Established in 2019 by Robin Weber and Lauren Jenness, two long-term islanders, the park utilizes a five-person advisory board to provide additional guidance when adopting management strategies, all of which have now been reviewed and approved by the GBC as well. 

The GBC awards certification to providers that have met rigorous qualification requirements that demonstrate compliance to established standards which are designed to preserve and steward land through burial. Achieving GBC certification ensures that all management actions in the park are ecologically responsible and, more generally, demonstrates a commitment to the green burial movement and the provision of environmentally sustainable death care options.

Although a natural (or green) cemetery does not require GBC certification in order to operate, the Prudence Memorial Park sought certification to publicly demonstrate that the standards developed by the GBC for a natural burial ground have been adopted. 

The GBC defines a natural burial ground as “a cemetery dedicated in full to sustainable practices/protocols that conserve energy, minimize waste, and do not allow the use of toxic chemicals, any part of a vault (lid, slab or partitioned liner), markers made of non-native stone, and burial containers not made from natural/plant derived materials.”

By the simple act of setting standards and certifying providers the GBC ensures that green burial means something, that environmental claims of all certified providers are backed up and hopefully, over time, will contribute to a greater awareness and acceptance of more environmentally friendly burial options.

Prudence Memorial Park was created to shape and preserve a natural area for the benefit of the natural environment, provide a final resting place for members of the Prudence Island community, establish a natural burial ground option for the general public, and to offer a place for quiet reflection for future generations of visitors. 

The park, while offering options for the interment of full body and cremated remains (as well as a scattering garden), is managed to actively increase the biodiversity of plant species to enhance wildlife use, primarily that of pollinator species, and reduce invasive species on the landscape. 

In all its efforts, the park employs sustainable management practices, prohibiting the use of toxic chemicals and reducing the energy expenditure which is associated with more contemporary cemetery practices. Instead, it applies strategies for land management and burial that are more traditional, leaving as little permanent impact on the landscape as possible.

To learn more about the park, visit www.prudencememorialpark.com.