U r b a n G r o u n d

Rachel Bechhoefer Katharine Ochsner

Conway School of Landscape Design

Spring 2009

M o u n t A u b u r n C e M e t e r y

580 Mount Auburn StreetCambridge, Massachusetts 02138

an urban natural burial guide & site suitability study

Introduction

Funerary Practices: A Comparison

Context: Space & Time

Context: Watershed

Site Study: Water

Site Study: Soils

Site Study: Vegetation & Habitat

Site Study: Microclimate

Site Study: Circulation & Views

Site Study: Further Considerations

Design: Introduction

Forest & Fire: Components

Forest & Fire: Design

Forest & Fire: Plants, Materials

Reflection: Components

Reflection: Design

Reflection: Plants, Materials

Healing Garden: Components

Healing Garden: Design

Healing Garden: Plants, Materials

River Patterns: Components

River Patterns: Design

River Patterns: Plants, Materials

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I n D e x

Copyright © 2009 by the Conway School of Landscape Design

The ConwAy SChool of lAndSCApe deSign is the only institution of its kind in north America. its focus is sustainable planning and landscape design. each year, through its accredited, ten-month program just nineteen graduate students from diverse backgrounds are immersed in a range of applied landscape studies, ranging in scale from residences to regions. graduates go on to play significant roles in various aspects of landscape planning and design with an eye to sustainability.

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Mount Auburn Cemetery, one of the world’s great burial grounds, has been an innovator in cemetery design and management since its inception. Lo-

cated in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, the cemetery was founded in 1831 to be not simply a burial ground but a haven from urban life, a place of natural beauty and abundance in the picturesque style, which is characterized by soft, pastoral landscapes adorned with neoclassical buildings and sculptures. The cemetery was designed to inspire contemplation of natural cycles of death and renewal, and to instill an awareness of the passing of time. These origins are reflected in Mount Auburn Cemetery’s mission: to commemorate the dead in sur-roundings of exceptional beauty and tranquility that provide comfort and inspiration to the bereaved and the public as a whole, and to offer comprehensive cemetery services to all faiths at a reasonable charge.

Mount Auburn Cemetery continues to lead the way forward. In recent years, the cemetery has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to environmental steward-ship through the virtual elimination of fertilizers, the gradual replacement of turf with groundcovers that require less irrigation, and the cultivation of plants that provide food and cover to urban wildlife. now, Mount Auburn Cemetery would like to become one of the nation’s first major urban burial grounds to explore natural burial, a sustainable and biodegradable form of burial.

urban natural burial sites can help fulfill our shared mandate to be more ecologi-cally responsible in a time of environmental challenges. They can help address the growing shortage of burial space in urban areas. As a link in urban greenbelts, they can provide natural open space for people and habitat for wildlife. Finally, they can help satisfy a growing craving among Americans for a return to a simpler way of life that is more integrated with the natural world.

This document is both a guide to natural burial in urban areas and a suitability study for a brownfield site in Watertown owned by, and adjacent to, Mount Au-burn Cemetery. By focusing on a specific place, the study illustrates the steps for determining the suitability of any site for natural burial. It is also a testing ground for design—a place to show how an urban natural burial ground might look and function. Because the site is typical of areas being slated for land repurposing in cities throughout the country, the principles applied to the site may be relevant to other, similar sites. In other words, this guide is intended to be not a site-specific study but a set of ideas that will inspire further exploration of urban natural burial. It is also a vision statement, a collection of thoughts on how we might find mean-ingful ways to honor both the dead and the natural world to which we all return.

Center

Igualada Cemetery, near Barcelona, Spain

Clockwise from top left national Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, HI

Calvary Cemetery, Queens, new york City Greensprings natural Cemetery Preserve, newfield, ny

etowah Indian Mounds, Bartow County, GA

Reef ball (concrete mixed with ashes), location unknown

Aboriginal burial ground, Melville Island, Australia

The goals of this guide are to:define natural burial and explain its social and environmental benefits.•

provide guidelines for assessing and implementing natural burial on urban sites by using a •parcel owned by Mount Auburn Cemetery as a case study.

design memorials to the buried that encourage contemplation and reveal natural processes.•

recommend ways to build rich soil, promote clean water, and provide urban habitat.•

i n t ro d u c t i o n

WHAT DOeS A BuRIAL GROunD LOOK LIKe? ReTHInKInG exPeCTATIOnS

Above: Mount Auburn Cemetery

r e t h i n k i n g b u r i a l

Sources: Mount Auburn Cemetery Web site and publications

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Sources: Mark Harris, grave Matters, new york: Scribner, 2007; Population Resource Center, 2008 data.F u n e r a ry P r ac t i c e s : A C o m pa r i s o n

natural burial grounds:mandate biodegradable burials.•

serve as memorial grounds.•

meet legal requirements for burial.•

encourage and reveal natural processes.•

protect clean water and enrich the soil.•

Society must evolve to respond to global envi-ronmental challenges. natural burial is chemi-cal-free and can have a negligible carbon foot-print.

A 2004 American Association of Retired Per-sons online poll asked, “What type of burial do you find most appealing?” eight percent of re-spondents chose traditional burial, 18 percent chose cremation, and 70 percent chose natural burial.

According to the u.S. Census Bureau, the u.S. population, now at 300 million, is expected to grow to 400 million in the next thirty years. More than three-quarters of Americans live in urban or suburban areas. Cemeteries are already running out of space. new burial grounds are needed in major population centers.

WHy uRBAn nATuRAL BuRIAL? WHy nOW?

COnVenTIOnAL BuRIAL

6 feet

formaldehydenoxious coatings

In a conventional burial, the body is embalmed prior to interment in order to delay decomposition. After embalming, the body is placed into a casket and lowered into a six-foot-deep grave lined with a 1.5-ton concrete vault. Conventional burials can be described as environmentally unfriendly by several measures:

embalming uses formaldehyde, a carcinogen that presents a health hazard to embalmers. •Millions of gallons of formaldehyde are buried annually. Little research has been conducted on the effects of •formaldehyde on groundwater quality.Traditional caskets are often made from tropical hardwoods, which come from distant and threatened forests, •or from metals, which do not readily decompose in the soil.Caskets are often coated with substances containing noxious chemicals. As a result, major casket •manufacturers regularly show up on the u.S. environmental Protection Agency’s biennial list of each state’s top fifty hazardous-waste generators.

Cost to consumer: averages $10,000

CReMATIOnSO2particulates

CO2mercury

Cremation—the process of incinerating a body—is a less resource intensive choice than conventional burial in that it requires less land and fewer chemicals and materials. Crematories have become more and more clean and efficient over the years as a result of developments in technology and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Crematories are regulated by the ePA, which requires that most air pollutants be filtered out during the cremation process before being released into the environment and which continually revises these regulations. even so, cremation still requires large amounts of energy and has several drawbacks. Cremation has potentially harmful environmental impacts, due to the fact that it:

involves fossil-fuel combustion, which uses up nonrenewable natural resources and releases carbon dioxide •into the atmosphere, contributing to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.releases some pollutants, despite improvements in pollutant-filtration technology. These pollutants include •sulfur dioxide, which contributes to acid rain; a small amount of fine particulate matter; and trace amounts of mercury, released from silver-amalgam dental fillings.

Cost to consumer: averages $1,800

nATuRAL BuRIAL

3.5–4 feet

natural burial is a chemical-free and environmentally friendly form of burial that:has been practiced for most of human history.•involves placing bodies directly into the ground without embalming preservatives, in biodegradable •containers. is completely legal in almost every state in the united States.•is perfectly safe as long as the burial ground is sited according to laws and regulations.•has a conscious conservation focus. •uses native vegetation in place of turf lawns. •involves shallow burials to make nutrients available to plants.•often includes no grave markers or only natural markers such as flush stones or plants that mark grave sites.•

Cost to consumer: $1,000–$4,000

environmental need

population pressure demand

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THe CHAnGInG CHARACTeR OF THe uRBAn LAnDSCAPe

According to a 2009 report issued by the u.S. environmental Protection Agen-•cy, residential construction is increasingly turning parking lots, old commercial buildings, and abandoned industrial areas throughout American cities into resi-dential neighborhoods.

The ePA report attributes this trend to an increased civic interest in smart-growth •policies, which focus on mixed-use infill development in urban areas and discour-age sprawl. With energy and transportation costs rising, the ePA predicts that demand for urban housing will continue to increase.

An increased demand for natural open space, a growing priority for home buyers •since the mid-1990s and a feature that boosts nearby property values by a third or more, is likely to accompany the rise in urban residential construction.

Sources: national Park Service, “economic Impacts of Rivers, Trails, and Greenways,” 1995; John V. Thomas, “Residential Construction Trends in America’s Metropolitan Regions,” environmental Protection Agency, January 2009.

AB

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open space

study site

water body

industrial zone

residential neighborhood

As demand for natural open space in cities increases, a natural burial ground has the potential to be a desirable neighborhood amenity and a link in urban greenbelts.

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ZOnInG: FITTInG InTO THe uRBAn LAnDSCAPe

In most cities, zoning laws prescribe allowable site uses and regulate setbacks from the street and adjacent properties. For a natural burial ground to be established on a site previously used for another purpose, the site’s owners will need to apply to the local zoning board for permission to use the site as a burial ground. The property may also need a different zoning designation or a variance.

The study site, which is located in a typical urban matrix of open space, residential neigh-borhoods, and industrial areas:

is currently zoned I-3, industrial. •is abutted by areas zoned T (residential), I-3, and OSC (open space and conserva-•tion). will require a zoning variance if it is to become a natural burial ground.•

Setbacks, determined by the zoning designation, will determine the limits within which new structures can be built.

c o n t e x t : s pac e & t i m e

PAST & CuRRenT SITe uSeS

The past uses of the three parcels that now make up the 5.85-acre Grove Street study site are not unusual for an urban site in an industrial zone. These past uses have resulted in soil contamina-tion and compaction, common problems that need to be ad-dressed if natural open space is to be established.

Charles River

Fresh Pond Reservoir

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Study Site

WATERTOWN

CAMBRIDGE

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OSCI-3

OSC

T Mount Auburn

Cemetery

Grove Street

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Side: 25 ft

Rear: 30 ft

Front: 20 ft

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Filippello Park and Playground 200'0' 100'

Not to Scale0.25 mi0

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c o n t e x t : wat e r s h e d

Charles River Watershed

Watertown, MA

PROTeCTInG WATeR QuALITy, SAFeGuARDInG PuBLIC HeALTH

In an urban natural burial ground, water bodies must be protected from health risks presented by decomposing bodies—risks that are much smaller than is com-monly assumed. Studies in Great Britain indicate that bodies in cemeteries can seldom be considered disease vectors. Most of the bacteria and viruses in the human body become inert within hours or days of their host’s death. Further studies have shown that even under circumstances in which many bodies are buried at once—and even when they are buried close to the water table—the only major risk to the living comes from drinking untreated well water under or within seventy-five feet of the burial area.

Furthermore, in most states, laws require that any plan for a new burial ground be reviewed and approved by the health board of the local municipal government prior to implementation (in Massachusetts, the law is found in the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 114, Section 34). Laws also govern the use of land within close proximity to water bodies, which means that any natural burial ground would have to comply with existing regulations that safeguard water quality and public health. In Massachusetts, for example, the law states that burial grounds must not discharge water into public water supplies (MGL, Ch. 114, §35), and the Mas-sachusetts Rivers Protection Act restricts site uses within two hundred feet of rivers to protect water bodies from possible contaminants. Burial grounds will thus necessarily be sited outside a buffer zone that surrounds major water bodies.

urban natural burial grounds can, in fact, contribute to the filtration and cleaning of water in cities. Water bodies in cities are more susceptible to pollution by chemicals, oil, sediments, and litter than water bodies in rural areas, due to the fact that much of the ground surface in urban areas is not permeable. Water flows quickly over impermeable surfaces, and pollutants move too fast to settle out of the water. In addition, water running over impermeable surfaces is not filtered by plants. Soil compaction, paved surfaces, and rooftop runoff all contribute to this problem. natural open space in cities, such as that in a burial ground, can help protect water quality by permitting water to infiltrate and allowing the soil to filter contaminants before they reach water bodies.

Fresh Pond development

study site Charles River

development

A A'Conceptual Section (Not to Scale)

Urban natural burial grounds:pose little threat to public health if laws and regulations are obeyed.•

can play a part in cleaning stormwater and reducing urban runoff by increasing the amount of natural open space in cities.•

Sources: Massachusetts General Laws, Memorial ecosystems conservation burial Web site, Massachusetts Rivers Protection Act.

Charles River

Fresh Pond Reservoir

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Study Site

A

A'

CAMBRIDGE

WATERTOWN

0.8

mile

s

PROxIMITy TO WATeR

Fresh Pond Reservoir, 0.8 miles to the north of the study site and the only public water supply in the area, is at a higher eleva-tion than the study site and is thus not affected by site runoff.

The Charles River lies 0.3 miles to the south, enough distance that according to the findings at right, buri-als on the study site would likely pose little to no contamination risk to the river.

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Stormwater flow, and the amount and rate of groundwater infiltration, should be assessed at the site of any new natural burial ground to protect water quality and determine whether site conditions will support decomposition.

S I T E s t u dy : wat e r

SITe DRAInAGe On the study site, all water passing over the site eventually makes its way to the Charles River, whether as surface run-off, by municipal storm drains that flow directly into the river, or indi-rectly, through the groundwater. Water flows south across the site and collects in low points before infiltrating into the groundwater. Runoff on Grove Street enters storm drains that flow into the Charles River.

GROunDWATeR & DeCOMPOSITIOn

Decomposition requires moisture; however, too much water creates anaerobic conditions and inhibits decomposition. In order to create the best conditions for decomposition—and to reduce any risk of local water contamination—burial should not occur where there is high groundwater. Because the level of the groundwater naturally fluctuates over the year, burials should occur above the seasonal high water table, so that bodies never sit in standing water. In addition, bodies should be buried high enough above the water table that the soil has time to filter potential contaminants from the body. The depth above groundwater will vary with soil type, as the rate of infiltration varies with different soil types.

InFILTRATIOn: SLOWInG & CLeAnInG WATeR

natural burial grounds, which provide relatively large areas of uninterrupted natural open space, can permit greater infiltration of stormwater into the ground than conventional burial grounds. This means that natural burial grounds can better reduce urban runoff, which typically contains pollutants and flows into rivers and lakes in large pulses that are often disruptive to the ecological balance of those water bodies.

Infiltration is inhibited in conventional burial grounds in two major ways. First, as cemeteries fill up with concrete vaults, large areas of impermeable surface are created just below grade. Second, backhoes are used to dig graves. When they move over the ground, they cause soil compaction. Heavy machinery is also used to tamp down soil over closed graves to keep it from settling, resulting in further soil compaction.

natural burial grounds, on the other hand, are free of concrete vaults. In addition, the use of backhoes can be reduced or eliminated in natural burial grounds, and the soil mounds that are created when graves are closed can be allowed to settle naturally, keeping the soil aerated and permeable. Finally, as part of a commitment to environmental responsibility, natural burial grounds can compensate for the creation of any new impermeable surfaces, such as parking lots, with vegetated infiltration basins.

B B

low point

former residence

retaining wall

soil moundscommercial building to Charles River

infiltration

runoff

The level of the groundwater fluctuates.

underground drainage

storm drain

surface drainage

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Grove Street

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+ low point

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200'0' 100'

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Filippello ParkCoolidge Hill

retaining wall

recycling pit Grove Street

AA

uRBAn SOILS

The stripped and compacted state of the soils at the study site is characteristic of the soil conditions at many postindustrial urban sites. To support vegetative growth, a topsoil layer must be added to bare soil. Topsoil can be added through mulching or soil importation. Vegetative growth, once it starts, creates more fertile topsoil. Burial that takes place in rich soil can make it even richer, as the organisms in organic matter promote the decomposition of bodies and make the nutrients released by the process of decomposition available to plants.

Compaction is another typical urban soil condition that must be remedied. Com-paction reduces the ability of the soil to infiltrate stormwater runoff amd increases the potential for erosion. Compaction also makes digging graves by hand difficult; instead, heavy machinery is needed. Heavy machinery compacts the soil even more, further increasing surface runoff and degrading soil health.

ACIDITy VeRSuS ALKALInITy

Sites that were once used to make concrete, such as the study site, are extremely al-kaline, or have a high pH level. Mulching alkaline soils with acidic organic material can help to neutralize the pH of the soil over the long term. Sites with acidic soils, which have a low pH level, promote the decay of calcium-rich bones and are thus more favorable to natural burial. Soils in the northeastern u.S. are commonly neutral or acidic. native plants, which may be important in a natural burial ground, tend to prefer these conditions.

SAnDy VeRSuS CLAy-BASeD SOILS

Sandy, gravelly soils are desirable for a natural burial ground because they increase the rate of decomposition by allowing more oxygen to penetrate the soil. In addition, water drains through them rapidly, so these soils generally do not become saturated, which could create anaerobic conditions and inhibit decomposition. It is also easier to dig in sandy soils than in more clay-based soils, which hold water and are very dense and heavy. On the other hand, sandy soils can be droughty, making it difficult for some plants to survive. Additionally, these soils may have poor fertility, which also inhibits plant growth. Soil amendments may be needed to adjust for these factors.

SITe SOIL COnDITIOnS udorthents are exposed sandy, mod-erately to well-drained soils. In these soils, the topsoil has often been removed for the creation of concrete aggregate, road fill, or landfill. The soil that remains is exposed mineral material. udorthents are suscep-tible to compaction by vehicles. They often have a history of contami-nation and may contain areas where the contaminated soil has been replaced by clean fill.

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200'0' 100'

The condition of the soil on a potential burial ground is perhaps the most important physical element to consider when conducting a site suitability study. Soil conditions influence:

the types of plants that will grow on the site.•

the rate of decomposition of organic matter.•

the volume and rate of water infiltration.•

whether machinery will be needed to dig graves, or whether •they can be dug by hand.

Udorthent soils, in yellow, dominate the study site. Sand and gravel have been removed from most of the site, carving out the hillside and leaving a retaining wall to support the remaining slope.

S I T E s t u dy : s o i l s

soil type: Udorthents, sandy

soil type: Merrim

ac,

fine sandy loam

soil type: urban land

soil type: Charlton–urban land–

Hollis complex

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Grove Street

Coolidg

e Hill

Road

Filippello Park and Playground

property line

property line

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Sources: natural Resources Conservation Service; Bill Lattrell, wetland scientist (verbal interview, May 2009)

In bare soils, the nutrients released by a decomposing body are not captured by plants. Soils with organic matter help bodies to decompose and to contribute their nutrients to new plant growth.

exposed mineral substrate

fertile topsoil

mineral substrate

TOPSOIL & DECOMPOSITION

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S I T E s t u dy : v e g e tat i o n & h a b i tat

glossy buckthorn Japanese knotweed garlic mustard

TYPICAL AGGRESSIVE PLANTS OF THE URBAN LANDSCAPE

brown thrasher (ground nester) downy woodpecker (cavity nester)

red-tailed hawk (canopy nester)

BIRDS FOUND IN THE URBAN FOREST

Urban natural burial grounds should increase habitat in cities to improve urban ecological health and promote opportunities for human enjoyment of the natural world.

SuCCeSSIOn, LAyeRS, & DIVeRSITy

At many urban brownfields, as at the study site, there is often a large amount of bare soil and little to no cover, forage, water, or nesting area for animals. However, as time goes on and plant succession takes place, bare soil will fill in with denser groundcover, then shrubs and young trees, and eventually urban forest. These sites must be intentionally planted and maintained to encourage the growth of beneficial and native species and increase species diversity, which will create good-quality habitat; without such efforts, these areas will be colonized by aggressive, disturbance-adapted species. Good-quality habitat for a diverse array of species can be encouraged by managing a site to include areas in different stages of succession, from field to shrubland to forest. Good-quality habitat can be further enhanced by including multiple vegetative layers in wooded areas.

BIRD HABITAT

Creating habitat for birds is a priority on small urban sites. It is difficult to create habitat for mammals on such sites because they are usually too small to accommodate all but the smallest and most disturbance-tolerant animals. On the other hand, birds can travel through the air, above the dangers presented by vehicles, and can thus move between patches of habi-tat easily. In any new urban burial ground, connections between the site and green space in the surrounding context should be enhanced to expand bird habitat. not only is this good for birds; it also presents an opportunity for people to enjoy wildlife in the city.

canopy

midstory

shrubground

FOREST LAYERS

Wildlife diversity can be enhanced by including multiple vegetative layers in wooded areas.

Wildlife diversity can be encouraged by managing a site to include areas in different stages of succession, from field to shrubland to forest.

PROCESS OF SUCCESSION

mature forest

young forest

woody shrubsfieldbare

soil

vegetation

SITe VeGeTATIOn The study site has very little vegetation in the interior because it has been cleared for many years to accommodate human activities, though some groundcover, such as grass and clover, is establishing itself. The eastern and southern edges of the site contain a mix of small, common, aggressive urban trees such as box elder, tree-of-heaven, norway maple, and honey locust. Along the northwestern and western edges of the property, above the retaining wall, the forest is dominated by norway maple, with some native trees, includ-ing white pine, box elder, quaking aspen, and paper birch, mixed in. The forest understory contains an assortment of weedy plants such as glossy buckthorn, Japanese barberry, Japanese knotweed, and garlic mustard. In general, aggressive early-successional plants do not provide high-quality forage for native birds and animals and are often considered degraded habitat.

Outside the property to the east lies the urban forest of Mount Auburn Cemetery, which contains a mix of tall canopy-layer trees, both native and exotic, culti-vated specimen trees, and showy plants from around the world. The diversity of both plant species and vegetative layers within the cemetery provides excellent bird habitat; in fact, the cemetery has ben designated an Audubon Important Bird Area. Well over a hundred species have been sighted in the cemetery, and birding has become one of the cemetery’s most popular activities. The study site could potentially extend this bird habitat as a natural burial ground.

200'0' 100'

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Filippello Park and Playground

Grove Street

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SuMMeR BReeZeS

not only is shade needed to provide relief from seasonal heat, but so are cooling summer breezes, which generally come from a southerly direction. When planning a natural burial ground, designers should take care not to block these cooling breezes.

WInTeR Sun & SHADe

While burial grounds are generally designed with the growing season in mind, it is im-portant to consider the location of sunny and shaded areas in winter, particularly if the site incorporates winter burials. Winter burials will likely be more appropriate in relatively warm and sunny spots than in cold, shaded areas.

S I T E s t u dy : m i c ro c l i m at e

SuMMeR Sun & SHADe

In the summer, people will be uncomfortable in hot, open areas. Any potential new burial ground needs sources of shade for human comfort and rest. Such shade-giving elements may be vegetative, structural, or a combination of both.

WInTeR WInDS

Winter winds generally come out of the north and northwest and can make a land-scape cold and uninviting. In any burial ground plan, windbreaks, either vegetative or structural, should be incorporated to block these cold winds and improve the human experience of the space. Vegetative windbreaks that are narrow should be composed of evergreens; a narrow line of deciduous trees will not effectively block wind.

Any natural burial ground should have comfortable spaces for people at all times of year.

evergreen windbreak

Source: Weather information from national Park Service

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In the summer, most of the study site is exposed to full sun all day. The site is likely to be dry, hot, and inhospitable. In this region, prevailing summer winds and storms tend to come from the southwest. A stand of trees along the southwest edge of the property may block some of these breezes; however, the open character of the site, combined with the sparseness of the trees along the southern edge, is likely sufficient to al-low good air circulation across the site.

Sun & SHADOW PATTeRnS: SuMMeR

In the winter, the study site receives morning sun, but most of the western half is shaded in the afternoon. This makes the site a warmer, brighter, and more inviting space in the morning and a colder, darker, and less inviting space as the day goes on. The western wall and the tall line of trees growing above the wall block some winter winds, but winds from due north blow across the site.

Sun & SHADOW PATTeRnS: WInTeR

LeGenD

no shade

full shade all day

200'0' 100'

hot summer sun cool summer shade bright winter suncold winter shade

LeGenD

no shade

full shade all day

prevailing summerbreezes

200'0' 100'

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Filippello Park and Playground

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Mount Auburn Cemetery

Filippello Park and Playground

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S I T E s t u dy : c i rc u l at i o n & v i e w s

well-planned circulation is key to the success of a natural burial ground design because:

the placement, legibility, and accessibility of pedestrian entrances and footpaths •structure visitors’ experience of place.

the clearer parking entrances and vehicular circulation routes are, the easier it •will be for people to use them.

well-planned views into, out of, and within the site are also important, because:

visitors may not feel safe in places that are hidden from sight.•

these views can highlight important aesthetic features in the landscape and can •help the site feel integrated into the neighborhood.

The view looking southeast at a vacant town-owned lot detracts from the site’s character as a place for reflection and contemplation of life processes.

B

The view of Mount Auburn Cemetery, on the other side of Grove Street, is currently blocked by a line of street trees.

A

P

Mount Auburn

Cemetery

P

parking lot

undesirable views

desirable views

Filippello Park and Playground

Grove Street

vacant lot

high point +A

B

vehicular use

50'0' 150'

not for construction. This drawing is part of a student project and is not based on a legal survey.

SITe CIRCuLATIOn & VIeWS

natural burial sites with well-planned circulation:

have clearly marked pedestrian and vehicular access •points on main streets.

have adequate and easily accessible parking.•

are accessible to hearses and maintenance vehicles.•

are ADA accessible.•

have frequently placed, comfortable seating, particular-•ly for visitors who have trouble walking long distances.

provide rich, memorable aesthetic experiences through •variety and contrast, passing from low points to high points, from sun into shadow, from field into forest.

natural burial sites with well-planned views:

alternate open views with blocked views to create a •sense of excitement and mystery in a landscape.

use overlooks and views of the street to visually inte-•grate the site into the surrounding landscape.

direct the eye toward important features of the site.•

block aesthetically unappealing elements such as park-•ing lots and industrial buildings.

allow views in from the street to provide a sense of •safety.

Seating areas give people a place to stop and rest.

People enjoy long views.

Views of the street make a site feel safe and integrated into the neighborhood.

1 The view offered from the high point across the site to Filippello Park and Mount Auburn Cemetery could become a key site feature and enhance visitor experience of the site.

2 Paths on steep slopes need to be designed for universal access.

Traffic on Coolidge Hill Road is primarily residential.3

Views of Mount Auburn Cemetery enhance the connection between this site and the burial ground across the street.

4

Grove Street is the primary route from which vehicles may access the site.

5

Views out of the site are blocked by fences, retaining walls, trees, and buildings.

6

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s i t e s t u dy : f u rt h e r C O N S I D E R AT I O N S

well-planned burial practices, people-friendly spaces, and environmental responsibility are all integral to the design of a natural burial ground.

BuRIAL-ReLATeD COMPOnenTS

urban natural burial grounds:

are free of chemicals and potential nonorganic pollutants.•

explore alternative forms of burial. They may include areas where cremated •remains can be scattered or buried.

provide spaces for natural burial in winter by creating open graves in the fall •before the ground freezes.

may explore reburial in graves where decomposition has long since taken •place, which is currently legal for family members who wish to be buried in the same place as another family member (Massachusetts General Laws, Ch. 114, §3a).

serve as poetic places in which burial is integrated with the natural processes •that take place on the site, places where individual memorialization is less important than the way the site functions as a whole. natural burial grounds are typically free of grave markers or may use flush stone markers. Global Positioning System coordinates can be used instead to record the location of particular graves.

SOCIAL COMPOnenTS

urban natural burial grounds:

highlight seasonal changes and reveal plant-community succession, helping •people see and understand processes of transformation in the natural world.

use plants to stimulate all the senses.•

create a varied, memorable spatial experience through the placement of paths •and vegetation.

highlight views important to visitors’ aesthetic experience and sense of safety.•

are recognizable as memorial grounds and are places that future generations •will come back to visit.

provide natural open space for people in the city and create new links in exist-•ing urban greenbelts.

contain comfortable spaces at all times of year, blocking winter winds and •providing shade and cooling breezes in summer.

eCOLOGICAL COMPOnenTS

urban natural burial grounds:

use plants to slow down and clean stormwater and to create porous, aerated •soils that allow water to infiltrate into the ground easily.

use managed plant succession to create species diversity and a diversity of veg-•etative layers, which in turn creates habitat for appropriate species.

use disturbance, potentially including fire, as a tool to manage plant succes-•sion.

make the nutrients returned to the soil by decomposition available to plants in •order to increase soil fertility and support new vegetative growth.

natural burial grounds mandate biodegradable burials, serve as memorial grounds, meet legal requirements for burial, encourage and reveal natural processes, and protect clean water and enrich the soil. in meeting these five criteria, urban natural burial grounds can bring positive burial-related, social, and ecological functions to the urban landscape.

COMPOnenTS OF An uRBAn nATuRAL BuRIAL GROunD

SHALLOW BuRIAL Conventional burials are 6 feet deep. Shallow burials, at 3.5 to 4 feet, encourage plant roots to contribute to decom-position and allow plants to take up nutrients from bodies as they decay. If bodies are bur-ied close to the organically active layers of soil, which are located near the surface, they will decompose faster and make nutrients avail-able to plants more readily. A 3.5- to 4-foot

seen as antithetical to the mission of natural burial.

THe ROLe OF nATIVe PLAnTS unlike regular turf grass, native grasses and other plants have deep root systems that are able to take up the nutrients released through the process of decomposition, thereby increas-ing soil fertility.

PROPOSeD nATuRAL BuRIAL MeTHOD

burial depth also encourages more microbial activity and thus faster decomposition than the conventional 6-foot burial depth, which takes place in the mineral substrate, where there is little organic activity.

Graves should be hand-dug to prevent soil compaction from backhoes. In addition, the use of fossil-fuel-dependent machinery can be

Won’t animals dig up graves?

Animals are not likely to expend energy digging up graves to find food. Two feet of soil over burials should be enough to elimi-nate odors.

side-oats grama

pale purple coneflower

little bluestem

leadplant

turf grass

2468101214

feet

ROOT DEPTH OF NATIVE GRASSES & FORBS

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feet

TREE-ROOT DEPTH

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A CCORDInG TO conventional Western concepts of death, bodies pass away, but individual souls continue to exist somewhere beyond the

mortal realm, unchanged for eternity. The traditional cemetery reveals the in-fluence of this belief in many ways—for example, through the use of stone, a seemingly permanent material, to mark graves. Many features of modern burial, such as embalming and the use of sealed, airtight caskets, also reveal the influence of this cultural attitude.

Conventional ideas about death may also contribute to a cultural assumption that humans are somehow set apart from, and superior to, the physical world, a belief that does not always inspire care for the environment. From another per-spective, one that may be more compatible with environmental stewardship, death might be seen as a natural process of transformation that is fundamental to life. All living things fade and eventually give themselves back to the soil. The conceptual designs shown here—illustrations of potential urban natural burial grounds—explore this alternative understanding of death. These burial grounds reveal the natural processes of life and foster an awareness of the hu-man place in the physical world. Drawing inspiration from plant communi-ties, successional patterns of change, and principles of environmental steward-ship, they remind us that all life is transitory and interconnected.

People who choose a natural burial for themselves or their loved ones may find comfort in the knowledge that every life is part of larger, ongoing pro-

d e s i g n : i n t ro d u c t i o n

Stage 1: establishment Build topsoil to support future planting •establish suitable burial conditions•

Stage 2: TransitionIncrease vegetative cover•Manage as an active burial ground•

Stage 2/3: Mature GrowthDevelop a mix of vegetative communities•Continue to manage as an active burial ground•Consider the possibility of practicing reburial•

Comparison: Conventional Versus

Natural Burial Sites

B U R I A L - R E L AT E D C O M P O N E N T S

S O C I A L C O M P O N E N T S

E C O L O G I C A L C O M P O N E N T S

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Forest & Fire

Reflection

Healing Garden

River Patterns

cesses, and that every body eventually returns to the earth and becomes a part of greater biological cycles.

FOuR SeASOnS, FOuR eLeMenTS

Seasonal changes remind us that change is natural and necessary. Leaves die in the autumn, but when they fall to the ground, they enrich the soil. Spring brings new growth and is a reminder of the fact that death is necessary to support life. The cycle of the four seasons has helped inspire the designs shown here. each design accentuates seasonal changes but is identified with a particular season in which the design is at its peak. The elements of earth, air, fire, and water—which reference different aspects of the natural world and encompass diverse ecological processes—have also provided inspiration. each design is identified with a particular element and, by extension, particular natural features and pro-cesses that correspond with that element.

STAGeS OF GROWTH

All of the designs on this page represent the mature stage of two to three planned phases of growth and development. Burial practices correspond with each stage

of growth, changing as plant communities change over time. Plant communi-ties in areas of each site are encouraged to undergo succession so that these areas transform from field or meadow into forest. The stages of growth and development also function as a method for restoring a barren urban site into an ecologically vibrant landscape, through the building of soil fertility over time as well as through the cultivation of diverse plant communities.

Forest & Fire ReflectionRiver Patterns

Healing Garden

FALL SPRInG SuMMeRWInTeR

FIRe AIR eARTH WATeR

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controlled burn fall colors, field and forest bowl of fire

f a l l Y Z f i r e

funeral pyre, gathering fields against a tree line

W Hen HuMAnS ABAnDOn A FIeLD or a meadow, shrubs and trees begin to fill in the open areas. In time, the field or meadow will become a forest. This design draws on the process of temperate-forest succession. By making the process of succession visible, this design highlights the fact that

the natural world is dynamic—that processes of transformation are an essential part of life.

The first stage in this design process involves seeding the earth with diverse grasses and flowering plants so that the site becomes a field. In several areas of the site, field vegetative communities are encouraged to grow up with woody shrubs and trees. Some of these woody areas are encouraged to mature further and become deciduous forest. One special part of the site is managed to become an old-growth grove of oak trees, a place of refuge and contemplation. The lifetime of a mature oak is many times that of a human. Ancient trees suggest a time long before we existed and remind us that life will continue long after we are gone—facts that may bring comfort to the bereaved. Burial responds to transition in plant communities, taking place more densely in fields and less so as areas fill in with shrub and forest layers.

In addition, fire is used as a management tool. Fire promotes the regrowth of many species, aids in seed dispersal, and returns nutrients locked up in vegetative matter to the soil, enriching the biological community in the process. Grassland communities, in particular, contain many species that respond favorably to this type of disturbance. In this design, controlled burns take place every three to four years in the portions of the site that are to remain field. These burns prevent shrubby plants and trees from moving in.

Fire also has ancient associations with funerary practices, from the burning of bodies on funeral pyres in the past to the contemporary practice of cremation. The notion that we are “ashes to ashes” is a powerful one, one that gives a dramatic and symbolic character to this natural burial ground.

f o r e s t & f i r e : c o m p o n e n t s

shrubland

old-growth oak woodland

oak woodland

oak woodland

field

photos: Internet sources

Mature Growth

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eSTABLISHMenT

MATuRe GROWTH

TRAnSITIOn

fire circle

fire circle

fire circle

field

field

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oak woodland shrubland

fire circle

small tree-shrub layermature oak woodland

shrubland

oak woodlandshrubland

small tree-shrub layer

mature oak woodlandyoung oak woodland

young oak woodland

field

field

field

Seed fields• Prescribe burns to increase soil fertility• Begin burial in field• Abandon designated areas of field to allow succession • into shrubland and oak woodland

Continue burial in field• Bury sparsely in shrubby and forested areas• Continue scheduled burning of field• Abandon areas of field for succession into shrubland• Allow existing shrubland to become oak woodland• Allow central area of oak woodland to develop into old-• growth forest

Consider burial in fields and consider reburial• Bury sparsely in shrubby and forested areas• Continue scheduled burning of field• Maintain the diverse successional communities that • have been created

f o r e s t & f i r e : d e s i g n

burials

burials

burials

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Common Name Botanical Name Structure/PurposeField/Meadow Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium grass, fall/winter color

Switchgrass Panicum virgatum grass

Bitter panicgrass Panicum amarum grass

Virginia wild rye Elymus virginicus grass

Blue wild rye Elymus glaucus grass, color

Broom sedge Andropogon virginicus grass

Side-oats grama Bouteloua curtipendula grass

Goldenrods Solidago spp. herb, early successional, summer flowers

Red clover Trifolium pratense herb, nitrogen fixer, insectary

False indigo Baptisia australis shrub, nitrogen fixer, insectary

Yarrow Achillea millefolium herb, early successional, spring summer flowers

Bush clover Lespedeza capitata shrub, nitrogen fixer, insectary

Transitional old field/ Flowering dogwood Cornus florida small tree, spring flowers

shrubland Pagoda dogwood Cornus alternifolia small tree, spring flowers

Pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica small tree, fruit

American hazelnut Corylus americana canopy tree

Witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana shrub, fall flowers/color

Woodland Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea canopy tree

Chinkapin oak Quercus ellipsoidallis canopy tree

Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa canopy tree

Shagbark hickory Carya ovata canopy tree

Ironwood Ostrya virginiana understory tree

Green ash Fraxinus pensylvanica understory tree

Paper birch Betula papyrifera understory tree

Appalachian sedge Carex appalachica groundcover

Pennsylvania sedge Carex pensylvanica groundcover

FIeLD Field plant communities are 60 to 80 percent grasses, dominated by four to six species. Grasses have deep root systems that build topsoil, often found growing side-by-side with nitrogen-fixing flowering plants, which also provide sea-sonal color. early-successional plants such as yarrow and goldenrod, and nitrogen fixers like clovers, thrive in open sites with degraded soils and build soil. Grasses and flowers are adapted to tolerate periodic burning.

TRAnSITIOnAL OLD FIeLD / SHRuBLAnD In this design, small trees and shrubs create a six- to twelve-foot-tall hedgerow along the field edge.

OAK WOODLAnD The oak woodland contains several species of oak in the canopy layer, while shade-tolerant trees and low-growing sedges dominate the understory.

f o r e s t & f i r e : p l a n t s , m at e r i a l s

The plants in this list are representative of the key species in each plant community shown above. Species in boldface should be dominant in the planting plan.

Left to right: flowering dogwood (Cornus florida); field of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium); scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea)

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brick weathering steelgranite

MATeRIALS

PLAnTS

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Sky Pesher (James Turrell) Cemetery to the Unknown, JapanBordeaux Botanical Gardens, France (Kathryn Gustafson)

cracked glassSalk Institute, CA (Louis Kahn)

w i n t e r Y Z a i r

T He FORMS AnD MATeRIALS used in this design reflect the site’s connection with the urban forms that currently surround it—such as the grid of urban streets and the straight architectural lines of modern buildings—as well as the past industrial uses of the site. Hard lines and sharp points, patterns

that recall shattered glass or shards of ice, have an edge of devastation that might reflect the grief associated with death. At the same time, vertical elements in the landscape draw the eye upward, toward the sky, while reflecting pools draw the eye downward and turn the mind inward.

The harsh lines in this landscape are softened by patches of vegetation that create a sense of quiet and stillness. Stands of tall, straight red pine create strong verti-cal lines, while below, pine needles blanket the ground plane. These pine-needle beds are surrounded by patches of low-bush blueberry and scattered fern drifts. The soft textures of the vegetation, combined with the strong sense of shelter provided by the red-pine canopy, suffuse the site with a hushed calm. In the winter, certain areas are left open with pre-dug graves so that burials may take place even when the ground is frozen.

The red-pine stands are managed to produce timber. This act of urban forestry represents an investment in future generations. The trees become a resource to be harvested and a kind of gift from those who have come before. each red pine is originally planted to mark a burial, but the patches of pine are periodically thinned out as saplings grow larger. This management strategy eventually creates stands of healthy, mature trees. Throughout this process, there is a recognition of the individual’s contribution to the larger community—the body of the individual becomes a necessary element in a process of transformation that transcends its parts and supports the good of the whole.

r e f l e c t i o n : c o m p o n e n t s

pine stand

blueberry patch

fern patch

photos: Internet sources

Mature Growth

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eSTABLISHMenT Sheet-mulch to build acidity, fertility • Establish fern groundcover •

TRAnSITIOn

fern patch

low-bush blueberry fieldsred pine seedlings

MATuRe GROWTH

mature red pine stand low-bush blueberry fields

Manage pine stands for timber• Harvest blueberries• Continue burial in blueberry and fern patches and • consider reburial

Begin burial• Plant pines as burial markers and thin as necessary as • trees growEstablish patches of low-bush blueberry•

fern patch

reflecting poolfuneral structure

pine seedlings

reflecting poolfuneral structure

blueberry patch

fern patch

pine stand

blueberry patch

fern patch

r e f l e c t i o n : d e s i g n

burials

fern patch

reflecting poolfuneral structure

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The plants in this design are adapted to acidic soils and maintain the soil’s acidity over time. An initial period of mulching with pine needles creates acidic soils, which speed decomposition of bones.

FeRn ASSOCIATIOn Ferns, with scattered mayflower and bloodroot, which blooms in early spring, blanket the ground and build fertile and acidic topsoil.

HeATH ASSOCIATIOn Fields of low-bush blueberry are planted with heather and bearberry to create dense one- to two-foot mats of vegetation. Heather blooms in late summer, while low-bush blueberry fruits in late summer and turns bright red in autumn.

PIne FOReST Red pine is a useful commercial timber tree. The pines are planted densely over burials and the stand is managed, by thinning, to support the growth of the best timber trees. Ferns and low-growing ephemeral woodland wildflow-ers blanket the ground under the pines.

r e f l e c t i o n : p l a n t s , m at e r i a l s

Common Name Botanical Name Structure/PurposeFern association Hay-scented fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula groundcover

Trailing Arbutus Epigaea repens herb, spring flowers

Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis herb, spring flowers

Heath association Low-bush blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium shrub, edible fruit, fall color

Heather Calluna vulgaris shrub, late summer flowers

Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi shrub, fruit

Pine forest Red pine Pinus rubra canopy tree, timber

Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides groundcover, evergreen

New York fern Thelypteris noveboracensis groundcover

Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum herb, spring flowers

Bluebead lily Clintonia borealis herb, spring flowers

Trout lily Erythronium americanum herb, spring flowers

White trillium Trillium grandiflorum herb, spring flowers

Red trillium Trillium erectum herb, spring flowers

Left to right: red pine (Pinus rubra) in winter; low-bush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) in autumn; low-bush blueberry among pines

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The plants in this list are representative of the key species in each plant community shown above. Species in boldface should be dominant in the planting plan.

PLAnTS

concrete pavers glass steel concrete

MATeRIALS

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fields of color drifting meadow patterns mown meadow labyrinth formal herb garden

s p r i n g Y Z e a r t h

T enDInG A GARDen can be soothing and healing. A healing garden is full of medicinal and edible herbs, colorful plants, aromatic and edible leaves and fruits, and many other plants that can bring people pleasure, comfort, and nourishment. Healing gardens are stimulating to all the senses and

can make people feel the joy of being alive. In this design, a healing garden looks out over the site’s burial spaces: a central meadow and a woodland edge filled with flowering trees. The planting beds in the healing garden are devoted to individual plant species that provide masses of color, pleasant scents, and medicinal benefits. The paths that wind through the healing garden put plants within easy reach of visitors and gardeners. In addition, the spiraling path shapes draw on the design of traditional meditation labyrinths. People have long used this circular pattern, which may evoke a sense of journey, to enter meditative or contempla-tive states of mind. Finally, as part of the site’s mission to honor the dead, mourners may choose to scatter the ashes of their loved ones in the planting beds so that the nutrients in the cremated remains, such as calcium and phosphorus, can contribute to the growth of the flowers and herbs. Throughout the site, there is something in bloom, blazing with color, throughout the growing season, giving the landscape a sense of joy and hope.

Mount Auburn Cemetery’s history as an arboretum has helped inspire this design. The cemetery’s rich collection of tree and plant species has made it almost as famous for its horticultural program as for its history as a cemetery. Many volunteers and groundskeepers are needed to maintain the arboretum. In this design, as in Mount Auburn Cemetery, community volunteers are central to the maintenance of the garden, both in the healing-garden spiral and, especially in winter, in a propagation greenhouse on the site.

Many of the volunteer gardeners could, potentially, be recovering patients from Mount Auburn Hospital. These patients—who might be participants in a pro-gram developed jointly between Mount Auburn Cemetery and the hospital, less than a mile away—would enjoy the satisfaction of working with plants and have the pleasure of being immersed in a landscape full of color, textural variety, and the scent of blooming flowers, things that may speed the healing process. Volunteer gardeners would harvest the herbs and plants when they were ready to be used medicinally. Other volunteer gardeners might be mourners, who could take comfort in the act of tending.

h e a l i n g g a r d e n : c o m p o n e n t s

meadow

shrub / small tree border

herb beds

overlook

gathering area

greenhouse

Spruce Knoll, Mount Auburn Cemetery (Julie Messervy)

photos: Internet sources

Mature Growth

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MATuRe GROWTH Plant and maintain woodland orchard • Continue to tend herb gardens• Continue burial in meadow and consider reburial•

herb beds meadowgathering area

meadow

woodland orchard

herb beds

overlook

gathering area

greenhouse

eSTABLISHMenT Establish seedlings, meadow• Begin greenhouse propagation • Tend herb gardens• Scatter ashes in gardens• Begin burial in meadows•

herb beds meadowgathering area

meadow

greenhouse

herb beds

gathering area

overlook

h e a l i n g g a r d e n : d e s i g n

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burials

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Common Name Botanical Name Structure/Purpose Flower ColorMeadow Red clover Trifolium pratense herb, spring/summer flowers red

Lupine Lupinus perennis herb, summer flowers blue

Beebalm Monarda didyma herb, summer flowers red

Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia sp. herb, summer flowers yellow

Joe-Pye weed Eupatorium purpureum herb, summer flowers pink-purple

Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa herb, summer flowers orange

Anemone Anemone canadensis herb, spring/summer flowers white

Maximillian sunflower Helianthus maximilianii herb, summer flowers yellow

Balloon flower Platycodon grandiflorus herb, summer/fall flowers blue

Pale purple coneflower Echinacea pallida herb, summer/fall flowers purple

Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium grass, fall color

Purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis grass, fall color

Spiral garden

Sun Purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea herb, flowers, medicinal purple

Coneflower Echinacea spp. herb, medicinal white-pink-peach

Lavender Lavandula spp. herb, scented, medicinal purple

Fennel Foeniculum vulgare herb, scented, edible white

Anise hyssop Agastache foeniculum herb, scented, edible purple

Rosemary Rosemarius officianalis herb, scented, edible purple

Thyme Thymus vulgaris heb, scented, edible pink

Oregano Origanum vulgare herb, scented, edible purple

Sunchoke Helianthus tuberosus herb, edible root yellow

Lemon balm Melissa officinalis herb, scented, edible pale purple

Mints Mentha spp. herb, scented, edible pale purple

Sweetcicely Osmorhiza berteroi herb, scented, insectary white

Strawberry Fragaria spp. herb, edible fruit white

Shade Goldthread Coptis trifolia herb, medicinal white

Wild ginger Asarum canadense herb, medicinal brown

Pippsissewa Chimaphila umbellata herb, medicinal white

American ginseng Panax quinquefolius herb, medicinal green-white

Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis herb, medicinal white

Woodland orchard Apple Malus pumila small tree, flowers, edible fruit white

Peach Prunus persica small tree, flowers, edible fruit white

Asian pear Pyrus bretschneideris small tree, flowers, edible fruit white

Flowering dogwood Cornus florida small tree, spring flowers white

Eastern redbud Cercis canadensis small tree, spring flowers red-pink

Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana tree, evergreen evergreen

Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia shrub, spring flowers white-pink

Juneberry Amelanchier alnifolia shrub, edible berries white

Butterflybush Buddleia spp. shrub, summer flowers purple-pink-white

Sweetspire Itea virginica shrub, spring flowers white

Flowering quince Chaenomeles speciosa shrub, spring flowers peach-pink

SPIRAL GARDen The formal spiral garden is full of culinary and medicinal herbs that are edible and aromatic. Solitary fruit trees provide shade for people and shade-loving medicinal herbs.

MeADOW The majority of the site is a colorful wildflower meadow, with drifts of color that change from day to day and over the course of a season. The meadow community is dominated by wildflowers, with ornamental grasses interspersed.

WOODLAnD ORCHARD Fruit trees and flowering shrubs, set against an evergreen backdrop, create a colorful border that screens the road and parking areas.

t

Left to right: eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis); lavender (Lavandula sp.); coneflower (Echinacea sp.)

h e a l i n g g a r d e n : p l a n t s , m at e r i a l s

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PLAnTS

Ashfield stone flagstone willow fencing

MATeRIALS

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river of green glacial erratic riparian corridorintermittent streambed Urban Outfitters, Philadelphia Navy Yard (Julie Bargmann)

s u m m e r Y Z w a t e r

R IVeRS ARe LIFe- GIVInG. They carry water through dry places and create fertile soils along their banks. The receding waters of a flooded river can be a reminder of natural processes of renewal and cleansing. This design acknowledges and builds on the original brownfield character of the project site—a

barren, abandoned urban lot with exposed and degraded soils—and uses the model of a flowing river to structure the process of soil restoration.

Fertile soil is established slowly, over time, as clippings, yard waste, and surplus soil from Mount Auburn Cemetery are scattered along the banks of a constructed riverbed. Water will drain into this dry riverbed filled with stones and, like a natural intermittent stream, the riverbed will slow down the water and allow it to infiltrate. As the original strip of fertile soil along the riverbed fills in with clovers and other nitrogen-fixing plants that increase soil fertility, the compost is spread outward, toward the western and eastern edges of the site, to create a gentle slope that directs water toward the riverbed. Through a managed process of succession, the area on either side of the riverbed grows up with riparian tree species such as sycamore and willow. As groundcover becomes established farther upslope, an upland forest community takes root. not only does this process reveal succession, but it also reveals the way in which plant communities correspond with the flow of water in the landscape.

In addition, this design evokes a geologic scale of time through the presence of glacial erratics in the landscape and plant forms that resemble those of ancient species. The erratics may suggest the glaciers that carved this landscape as they retreated millions of years ago and may remind visitors of how ephemeral human lives appear when placed in the context of geologic time. The presence of glacial erratics also suggests the way that the site’s glacial history created the soils that made this place a good location for a concrete factory.

Like the retreat of the glaciers, the soil-building process proposed here may happen over several lifetimes. It would take a new period of glaciation to truly re-create the soils that once existed on this site, but it is possible to restore topsoil and fertility within a more human-scale time frame through the patient and persistent application of vegetative matter and the products of organic decomposition, and through the cultivation of healthy vegetative communities that provide habitat for the beneficial fungi and microorganisms that live in the soil and make nutrients available to plants.

r i v e r pat t e r n s : c o m p o n e n t s

Aboveground mound burials provide visible signs that an otherwise natural-looking landscape is a burial site. Mounds can also be used to build topsoil. In addition, mound burial can be used in place of digging when compacted or contaminated soils are present. In this design, mound burials occur throughout the site and contribute to the process of soil restoration when they are spread locally, after decomposition has taken place.

upland forest

riverbedriparian forest

groundcover

footbridge

photos: Internet sources

Mature Growth

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riverbed

eSTABLISHMenT

MATuRe GROWTH

TRAnSITIOn

riverbed

riverbed

groundcover

groundcover

groundcover

riparian forest

riparian forest

young sycamore

mature sycamore

bare soil

riverbedgroundcover

large boulders

large boulders

large boulders

groundcover

riverbedriparian forest

upland forest

riverbedriparian forest

groundcover

upland forest

Build soils along riverbed• Seed groundcover along riverbed•

Spread groundcover outward• Encourage riparian forest to grow up along riverbed• Begin ground burial alongside riparian forest• Begin mound burial•

Extend groundcover throughout entire site• Encourage upland forest to grow up alongside mature riparian forest• Continue burial in areas with groundcover and, more sparsely, in wooded areas•

r i v e r pat t e r n s : d e s i g n

burials

burials

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Common Name Botanical Name Structure/PurposeGroundcovers Field horsetail Equisetum arvense groundcover

Hay-scented fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula groundcover

Red clover Trifolium pratense groundcover, nitrogen fixer

Prostrate birdsfoot trefoil Lotus corniculatus groundcover, nitrogen fixer

Groundnut Apios americana groundcover, nitrogen fixer

Leadplant Amorpha canescens groundcover, nitrogen fixer

Beach pea Lathyrus japonicus groundcover, nitrogen fixer

Riparian Forest Sycamore Platanus occidentalis canopy tree, bark

Smooth sumac Rhus glabra small tree, flowers, fall color

Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina small tree, flowers, fall color

Willow Salix spp. small tree/shrub

Riverbank grape Vitis riparia vine, edible fruit

Black cherry Prunus serotina tree, fruit

Upland Forest Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica canopy tree, fall color

White ash Fraxinus americana canopy tree, fall color

Willow Salix spp. small tree/shrub

Pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica small tree, fruit

Chokecherry Prunus virginiana shrub, fruit

Winterberry Ilex verticillata shrub, winter color

Witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana fall flower/ color

r i v e r pat t e r n s : p l a n t s , m at e r i a l s

GROunDCOVeRS nitrogen-fixing plants along the river corridor build nitrogen and fertile topsoil. Low-growing plants (six to twelve inches high) maintain the open, barren character of an abandoned site. Plants with prehistoric forms, such as horsetail and ferns, may recall the ancient past.

RIPARIAn FOReST Mature sycamores dominate a riparian woodland with sumac, other small trees, and vines along the riverbank.

uPLAnD FOReST Canopy trees are planted to become mature shade trees. Islands of upland species are planted with the intention that they will eventually spread across the whole area.

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Left to right: field horsetail (Equisetum arvense); staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) in autumn; sycamore (Platanus

occidentalis)

The plants in this list are representative of the key species in each plant community shown above. Species in boldface should be dominant in the planting plan.

PLAnTS

river rock woodpea gravel

MATeRIALS

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Candace Currie, director of planning and cemetery development at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Special thanks to David Barnett, president and CeO of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Thank you to the Board of Trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery.

A special thank-you to Carol Coan, for providing information, advice, and valuable feedback.

i bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass i love,if you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.

—from Song of Myself, walt whitman