January 2025 – Campo de Estrellas

Long-Distance Transportation for Natural Burial

We here at Campo de Estrellas are blessed to have supporters of our project living both near and far. From our further-away friends (including some in our own family), we are often asked how they can arrange to be transported to our cemetery for burial after death. That is quickly followed by a musing on whether or not it would be a truly ‘green’ burial if long-haul transportation is involved.

We’ll address both in this post, meant to be read when you are not under the stress of having to arrange such a task. If that’s not you, we’ll try to keep it brief and informative.

Long-distance transportation after death is a scenario that has actually been quite central to the evolution of funeral practices. The practice of embalming, a cornerstone of the modern funeral industry, was originally developed to address the need to transport the deceased over long distances. During the Civil War, embalming was developed to preserve soldiers’ bodies with formaldehyde so they could be transported home via rail. Bodily refrigeration wasn’t available at the scale of the war casualties, so embalming became the most practical solution.

Today, we’ve moved beyond formaldehyde injections. Refrigeration and airtight containers make it possible to transport bodies without embalming, preserving both the integrity of the body and adherence to natural burial principles.

Natural burial, with its emphasis on biodegradable materials and restrictions on embalming, can still accommodate long-distance transportation. Cooling a body and using an airtight container ensures compliance with natural burial guidelines. Upon arrival, the body is transferred into a biodegradable casket that meets cemetery regulations.

For families navigating this process, working with a funeral home simplifies matters significantly. Funeral directors are well-versed in the logistics of transportation and can arrange for bodies to travel by car or plane, providing guidance and handling the necessary paperwork. Costs for transportation, whether mileage or airfare, are typically paid through the funeral home managing the arrangements.

Transporting a body involves both legal and practical elements. If you’re working with a funeral home, they’ll handle the process for you. However, for those curious about what it entails, these are the essentials:

Obtaining Permits: The jurisdiction where the death occurs requires a burial transit permit. This can usually be arranged through the state’s vital statistics office.
Choosing Transportation: Bodies can travel by car or plane. If using a personal vehicle, a minivan works well for its space and discretion. Overnight trips may require coordination with a funeral home to use their facilities for storage.
Air Travel: When flying, the deceased is placed in a sealed, airtight container to ensure safety and containment. These containers are handled through the airline’s cargo system, separate from passenger areas. Upon arrival, the funeral home picks up the body from the airport’s cargo terminal.

To give you a sense of how this process plays out in practice, let’s say someone is transporting a loved one from Michigan to Texas. The funeral home in Michigan would coordinate with a partner funeral home in Texas to ensure safe and respectful transfer. It’s a collaborative system built over decades and reflects the funeral industry’s true roots in deceased travel arrangements.

Currently, it is true that travel by any motorized method for any reason will not beat the pollution allegations. However, it’s important to consider the broader perspective.
A natural burial site such as ours serves as a permanent space for restoration and preservation, protecting land from development and fostering native ecosystems. For families, it also creates a dedicated space for reflection and connection. If someone passes while traveling, the resources used to return them home are often the same ones they would have consumed during life.

The emotional and spiritual benefits of choosing a natural burial tend to outweigh the environmental trade-offs. These include fostering a relationship with the land, honoring a loved one’s connection to a specific place, and providing family members with a meaningful space to mourn and remember. And, with the rise in interest in natural burial, it’s likely that there will be closer natural burial options for folks to chose from, making long-distance travel unnecessary.

Winter Solstice Event 2024

The winter solstice on December 21, 2024, marked the longest period of darkness in the northern hemisphere, a turning point after which the days grow longer and the light gradually pushes back the shadows. As a powerful symbol of transition and hope, the winter solstice invites us to honor the changing season and embrace the coming light.

Much like the rituals we observe to honor those who have passed, solstice celebrations vary widely across cultures. In Norse and Celtic traditions, the burning of a yule log symbolizes warmth, light, and the sun’s return during the darkest time of the year—a poignant reminder of our life-giving estrella.

Inspired by this astronomical event and the yule log tradition, we partnered with our friends at the Central Texas Mycological Society (CTMS) to host a unique celebration at Campo de Estrellas Conservation Cemetery. The day was a spectacular mix of knowledge sharing, exploration, reflection, and community.

Our event began around noon at the farmhouse on Abbey Grange, the property housing Campo de Estrellas. Participants gathered in the cozy main room, enjoying cups of yaupon tea, coffee, and delectable snacks like “Mushrooms Casino,” mushroom jerky, and persimmon cookies provided by Austin Davenport and Angel Shatz of CTMS.

The Campo de Estrellas team then gave a presentation on the history of Abbey Grange, its rewilding efforts, the legal aspects of opening a conservation cemetery in Texas, and the principles of natural burial. Engaging discussions followed, fueled by thought-provoking questions from the participants. It is always so heartening to be reminded of the community’s deep interest in natural burial and our mission.

After the presentation, we ventured into the cemetery for hands-on demonstrations. Groups rotated between participating in a shrouding and processing activity and touring the cemetery with Cindy, who highlighted our gardens, explained grave-marking processes, and shared stories of those buried here.

I led the shrouding demonstration, where volunteers practiced shrouding a willing participant and carrying them to a mock burial site outlined by a wooden frame and adorned with yaupon holly clippings. While shrouding may not be part of everyone’s end-of-life plan, offering a safe and lighthearted environment for people to experience these rituals can be profoundly moving. One participant even chose to read a poem aloud from within the shroud – a moment of humor and humanity true to the spirit of the event.

After all groups had participated, we reconvened at the farmhouse for a sunset ecology walk led by Chris Garza, an ecologist with extensive knowledge of Central Texas’ plants, fungi, and wildlife. Chris encouraged us to reflect on the yule log tradition as we gathered bits of nature to adorn our log. Along the path, he pointed out the thriving winter flora and shared tips on pruning limbs safely without exposing trees to infection. The highlight of the walk was discovering Texas Star mushrooms (Chorioactis geaster), an incredibly rare fungus found only in Texas and Japan. These unique “stars” emerged from a felled cedar stump, also known as the ‘black crown’. It was thrilling to know that our little plot of land was home to something so rare and was indeed a ‘field of stars’!

The day concluded at the farmhouse firepit, where we adorned the yule log with our collected clippings. Around the fire, participants shared solstice reflections inspired by the plants we’d encountered. “Keep what is beautiful and let go of the rest,” one person said. “Lean toward the light,” another added. As the log burned and the sun set behind the trees, we celebrated the season with warmth, connection, and gratitude for the life that continues all around us. Under the twinkling winter sky, we embraced the enduring power of light and renewal.