Avery Lavoie interviews Roxbury Forest Cemetery founder Michelle Acciavatti about Vermont's first forest cemetery and natural burial options. They broaden awareness and access to natural burial.
From Vermont Forest Cemetery and Green Mountain Funeral Alternatives:
Vermont Forest Cemetery is a 501c13 non-profit cemetery which opened in October of 2023. Our mission includes five branches- burial, conservation, arts, learning & community- to help people connect meaningfully with the forest that they choose to sustain with their bodies when they die. Thanks to our volunteers we have developed trails and assisted over 14 families with burials. If you’d like to learn more about volunteering with Vermont Forest Cemetery please visit our website www.cemetery.eco/about and scroll to the bottom of the page!
Michelle Hogle Acciavatti is a natural deathcare worker and the founder of Vermont Forest Cemetery the first natural burial ground in Vermont. She is a licensed funeral director, death doula, pregnancy loss guide, home funeral guide, end of life specialist and natural burial educator. In 2016, she created Green Mountain Funeral Alternatives to help people preparing for the end of life, designing funeral services, caring for their own dead, and exploring natural burial options. Michelle has practiced death work with people of all ages, including death during pregnancy. Her work has found her in settings as varied as the forest, Boston Children’s Hospital, and people’s own living rooms as well as the traditional funeral home.
For more information visit: www.cemetery.eco | www.memorial.eco
