Green Burial in New Hampshire

Bringing Green Burial to New Hampshire

Introducing Natural Burial New Hampshire!
At the start of 2025, a group formed to begin raising funds that will support the formation if independent natural burial ground in NH.

NHFREA is a partner in educational efforts to raise awareness throughout the state. You'll find many of the documents previously housed at NHFREA on the Document Library page of the NBNH website.

Facts About Green Burial in New Hampshire

Lee Webster and Fred Taylor discuss grave safety and soil science at Higher Ground Burial Ground at Manitou Conservation in southern Vermont

There are no impediments to green burial in New Hampshire other than local cemetery bylaws. NH mandates that each town provide burial space for its residents, so local cemeteries are opportunities for green space. Meet with your elected cemetery trustees to ask that they relax policies that require outer burial vaults, or consider designating space specifically for green burial. Some of the written materials below may help foster productive exchanges with local elected officials.

To locate green burial cemeteries in NH, check out our comprehensive list of Green Burial Cemeteries in the US and Canada which is updated regularly and shared with various nonprofits throughout the country. Note that some of NH's cemeteries are vaultless because they never adopted the policy of requiring them.

Making Green Burial Affordable in NH
In a survey of ten cemeteries that bury green and post their pricing online conducted January 29, 2025, the average price a plot in NH was $360, ranging from $125 to $600 for residents. Opening and closing fees, corner markers purchase and installation, and perpetual care fees, when required, are usually, but not always, additional.

Ensuring Worker Safety
One particular environmental and health concern is embalming, an invasive process with no lasting benefits beyond the cosmetic. It poses a major health hazard to embalmers who reportedly have an 8-times greater chance of contracting leukemia, are at a 3-times higher risk of contracting ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and a 13-times higher risk of dying earlier than the standard cohort due to COPD, neurological diseases, and cancer. While speaking with your trustees, you may also be able to discuss the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, which pose a significant health hazard to cemetery maintenance employees, all of which are used sparingly, if at all, in green burial space.

Burial Depth and Animals
Burial depth of 3.5 -4 feet is recommended for creating the optimum conditions for rapid and efficient decomposition. This is where microbes and insects do their best work. This leaves a smell barrier of 18 to 24 inches above the body, discouraging nuisance disturbances. Soil is not removed, but layered on top of green burial graves to settle as the body space is displaced.

Protecting New Hampshire Spaces
Natural burial is being welcomed on conservation lands, providing families pristine, natural environments in which to remember their loved ones while supporting the preservation of intrinsically valuable lands in perpetuity. By reducing the amount of steel, copper, and exotic woods that are housed in concrete in the ground through conventional burial, and doing so on lands dedicated to responsible stewardship, burial moves from a dead end to a win/win.

New Hampshire Cemetery Association Survey Results 2019

Learn about pricing and options in New Hampshire cemeteries in this 2019 survey, and let the NHCA know what you think by going to their website. You can contact them at [email protected] or 603-540-9608 to join or ask for more information.