| Your Name | Paige Ruane |
|---|---|
| TRP Cohort Assignment | Americas Hybrid In-Person/Online with Intensive in the Hudson Valley, Spring-Summer 2024 |
| Study Cohort Members | Vanessa Bertozzi, Martin Ping, David Todd |
| Working Title of The Project (which we will use to refer to it throughout the series) | Outside the Box: Green Burial & Composting |
| Project Location | Rhinebeck Natural Burial Ground |
| Nature of The Project (e.g. building, new community, economic development, etc.) | Land use, community service |
| Why do you think this project is appropriate for the course assignment? | Green burial is starting to catch on across the country. The Rhinebeck Natural Burial Ground was one of the first in NY State. Meanwhile NY State has made it legal to compost human remains. We see this as fertile ground to go deeper. The person who runs the Rhinebeck Natural Burial Ground, Suzanne Kelly, is a farmer and a writer who has thought deeply about these issues. Paige’s brother recently passed away and he was composted, at Recompose in Seattle, so she has first hand experience. Martin’s dear friend chose to be burned on a funeral pyre. David’s in-laws’ family goes back generations in the funeral home business. We could interview them as well. We all feel this topic is very meaningful and holds potential to connect people to the natural world in profound ways. We are also contemplating the relationship between our culture’s experience of death and dying to how we approach the polycrisis. Vanessa knows Suzanne, who runs the natural burial ground in Rhinebeck and she is happy to work with us. We initially approached the Harlemville Rural Cemetery, but they were hesitant to work with us. Martin has close contacts at the Harlemville Rural Cemetery and there’s potential for collaboration with Hawthorne Valley Farm and Harlemville Rural Cemetery that could be informed by our Regenesis project nonetheless. |
| Additional Useful Information | When previously considering Harlemville weren’t sure if Martin’s interest in collaboration could unintentionally complicate working with them. Curious if we should discuss as a group with Joel. Vanessa and Suzanne mutually agree that the Town Supervisor in Rhinebeck has a difficult personality (the cemetery is technically owned by the Town), but we have a shared understanding and don’t think there will be an opportunity for the Town Supervisor to derail anything. Just wanted to share that context! |
| Date Created | June 21, 2024 |