To the Editor:

Ever since I was a young person, I told people that when I grew up I wanted to be a conservationist. Living here with my husband for over 45 years has given me many opportunities to be involved with conserving beautiful land, most recently Buck’s Ledge Community Forest.

Now, as I am approaching the last quarter of my life, I am starting to think about how I want to be buried in the least invasive way to the environment. I always thought that cremation would be the simplest and cheapest. But recently I learned what a huge impact this process has on the environment. Cremations in the U.S. release about 360,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.

Recently, I learned about Green Burials and Green or Hybrid Cemeteries. This has given me a sense of satisfaction that there are many people who are thinking about this and are doing something about it.

We have the good fortune of having Chuck Lakin come to Bethel to speak of what he has learned about green burials and other alternatives at the end of our lives. Chuck is an advisor with the organization: Last Things.

The public is invited to this free event: Wednesday, October 4 at 3 p.m., at the First Parish Congregational Church on Church Street in Bethel. See you there.

Emily Ecker
Woodstock