ADAPTED FROM HERLAND FOREST WEBSITE On May 1, 2020, Washington State became the first state in the US. to allow natural organic reduction (NOR) as an alternative to cremation services and traditional burials. This law defines “natural organic reduction” as “the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to the soil.” Think composting. Walt Patrick, steward of the Herland Forest Natural Burial Cemetery in Wahkiacus, Washington holds the state’s first NOR facility operator’s license and on December 20, 2020, he and his staff performed their first NOR investment. The term investment refers to the process of placing someone’s remains into a natural organic reduction vessel encased in the organic matter and…
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What’s Your Plan B?
I spend a lot of time talking to people about their End-of-Life plans. My coffin and cemetery business has a way of making that an easy topic of discussion for me
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Why Not Do Something About It?
Do you feel frustrated about what you see on TV, online, and in other media?
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Writ in Stone – The Cemetery as Historian
No two cemeteries are alike. Nobody is buried in more than one place and, consequently, every cemetery is unique, with its own grouping of the once-living unlike any other on the planet.
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Sharing the Caring at the End of Life
The most effective information-sharing tool turned out to be a Facebook page set up by his daughter in order to easily share news about his rapidly changing condition once he stopped eating.
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Black Soldier Flies or Me and My ‘Maggots’
I love compost. Specifically, my compost, the product of backyard alchemy. I fuss, fidget, adjust and probably take as much pride in rolling the finished product through my fingers as I do picking the vegetables that grow so healthily in my garden.
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Vancouver Water Resources Education Center
If you haven’t been to this hidden jewel at 4600 SE Columbia Way in Vancouver, put it on your list and visit. It opened its doors in February 1996, in concert with a new, innovative and advanced Marine Park Water Reclamation Facility, but many people have yet to discover it. Their mission: Teach people of all ages how to better care for and make wise decisions about water. They do this with interactive exhibits, aquaria swimming with fish, classroom laboratory, toddler-friendly Puddles Place, inspiring White Sturgeon gallery, natural gardens, wildlife-friendly wetlands and more! Inside and outside, the Water Center is brimming with things for visitors of all ages to do…
