Knowing you want a green burial is one thing. Knowing how to actually arrange one — in a country where truly natural burial sites are still rare, and where funeral industry norms tend to default to conventional options — is another. This guide walks you through the process from beginning to end, whether you're pre-planning for yourself or making arrangements for someone you love.
The most important thing to understand going in is this: green burial requires a little more intention than a conventional funeral. Not more difficulty — but more care, more advance thought, and more specific conversations with the people involved. That extra intention, it turns out, is part of what makes it meaningful.
Start With the Site
Everything else follows from where the burial will take place. In Canada, genuinely green burial sites — those with dedicated natural sections that accept shroud burial, require no vault, and restore graves with native plants — are still relatively uncommon. Start by using the directory on this site to identify what is available in or near your province.
When you contact a cemetery, ask these questions directly:
Is embalming required or expected? If yes, this is not a green burial site. True natural burial does not involve embalming under any circumstances.
Is a vault or grave liner required? If yes, this disqualifies the site. The body must reach the soil directly.
What containers are accepted? Shroud, wicker, untreated wood, and simple biodegradable containers should all be options. If they push back on any of these, ask why.
How is the burial section maintained? Native planting, minimal mowing, and natural grave markers are the hallmarks of a genuine green burial section.
Can you pre-purchase a plot? For advance planning, this is often available and wise — good green burial sections fill up.
Choose a Funeral Director (or Don't)
In Canada, families have the right to handle many aspects of a death themselves. However, provincial regulations vary on what requires a licensed funeral director. In most provinces, transportation of the body and filing of the death certificate involve a licensed professional at some point, though the extent of their required involvement differs.
If you want a funeral director involved, look specifically for one familiar with — and supportive of — green burial. Not all funeral directors are. Some will accommodate your requests; others will subtly push toward conventional options. Ask directly: have you facilitated green burials before? Do you have relationships with natural burial cemeteries?
Some families work with a home funeral guide or death doula instead, or in addition to a funeral director. These are non-licensed professionals who support families through the practical and emotional dimensions of handling a death more directly. In some provinces, this is a viable path to a more fully family-directed natural burial.
Body Preparation Without Embalming
Without embalming, the body begins to change relatively quickly — though more slowly than most people expect, especially in cool conditions. There is no requirement to rush, but a green burial typically takes place within two to four days of death.
Families who want to keep the body at home during that time can do so safely in most circumstances, using dry ice or a cooling system to slow decomposition. This is a traditional practice in many cultures and is fully legal in Canada. A home funeral guide can advise on the specifics.
Bathing and dressing the body — or wrapping it in a shroud — can be done by family members. For many families, this becomes one of the most profound acts of care they offer the person who has died.
The Shroud or Container
If you are using a shroud, it should be made from natural, undyed, biodegradable fabric — linen, wool, or cotton. Commercial burial shrouds are available from several suppliers in Canada and the UK. Some families make their own, using fabric that was meaningful to the deceased.
If you prefer a container, the options include wicker coffins, plain pine boxes, and simple untreated wood caskets. All of these are available from funeral suppliers and, increasingly, from small-scale makers who specialize in natural burial products.
The simplicity of the container is not a diminishment. It is an expression of the same care and intention that defines the whole practice.
The Ceremony
Green burial does not prescribe any particular ceremony. Families hold graveside services, home vigils, woodland gatherings, and everything in between. Religious and secular ceremonies are equally common. The burial itself — lowering the body into the ground, often with family members participating directly — tends to be deeply meaningful in a way that is different from conventional funerals.
Many families find that the lack of a formal funeral home setting, the outdoor location, and the simplicity of the whole process creates space for a kind of grief that feels more honest and more connected to the natural world.
Documentation
The paperwork required at death in Canada — death certificate, burial permit — is handled through provincial vital statistics offices and typically involves a licensed funeral director or the attending physician. The green burial site will usually advise on what documentation they require before burial can take place.
If you are pre-planning, it is worth keeping a clearly written document that states your wishes — the cemetery, the method, the type of container, your preferences for ceremony — somewhere accessible to the people who will be making arrangements. The clearer you are in advance, the easier you make it for the people you love.