Beneath the Trees: A Final Resting Place at Life Forest

The forest is a place full of life. For many, it's also where they dream of being laid to rest, forever surrounded by the beauty of nature and beneath the growing trees. Mel Bennett is the concept creator and co-founder of Life Forest, a nonprofit conservation cemetery in Hillsborough. It provides an eco-friendly and inclusive opportunity for the burial of composted or cremated remains and allows multiple family members, as well as their pets, to be buried together in one location with all the legal protections of a traditional cemetery. The idea began as a passion project for Bennett and was inspired by the passing of her mother. As children, her mother would bring them to play at a peaceful nearby cemetery to escape the neighborhood violence of Lawrence, Mass. in the 1980s. She would quell their fears of the cemetery and talk about death as a natural part of the life process, saying that one day she herself would die and become a tree. Years later, when her mother passed away after a long and devastating battle with early onset Alzheimer's disease, Bennett recalled being handed a plastic bag of her mother's cremated remains in a Starbucks parking lot and thinking, "This is it?" She placed her beloved mother's remains in a cabinet and for the next few years regularly promised to put her somewhere amazing as a final resting place. One day, she saw an online advertisement for an urn that would grow into a tree, just as her mother had always promised. It was perfect, but there was a hitch. Her mother was a lover of genealogy and Bennett wanted to honor that interest for maintaining family records by burying her in a legal cemetery. None would allow it, citing tree roots and other care concerns that a growing tree would entail. She began to contemplate the thought of buying her own piece of beautiful land, having it conserved and keeping location coordinates. A friend with real estate and legal knowledge suggested opening it up to others as well to make it more attainable, and the concept of Life Forest was born back in 2019. They explored available land close to the center of the state in towns with active conservation boards and Hillsborough jumped to the front of the line. The town has more than 6,000 conserved acres of land and a robust conservation commission. "It was a perfect fit," Bennett said of the land they found, surrounded by conservation acres. They pitched the idea to the board, completed the tasks required of them, and were approved to open Life Forest, which is 13 acres. Interment options include single ash burial plots for one person or pet; memorial tree burial plots that allow multiple family member and pet burials beneath a tree; and woodland trail burials for as many people and pets as needed along Life Forest's trails rather than with their own tree. Pricing differs with each option but is a one-time cost with no annual maintenance fees. And when compared to traditional cemeteries, pricing is affordable in that it allows the burial of multiple family members and pets, Bennett explained. For example, one plot is currently a resting place to the remains of 17 family members and pets. Plots can also be purchased for the future to allow pre-planning and there is never a charge for children up to the age of 20, a decision that Bennett says was important to the founders from the beginning to ease the pain of burying a child. Payment plans and volunteer hours are available as well. Life Forest is the first cemetery of its kind in the world. It's the only one in this country and since opening, only two others have followed suit in Australia and Canada. They recently opened a second Life Forest site in Auburn, Maine, that offers solely woodland burials. The innovative concept, one that Life Forest has legal copyrights and intellectual property rights to developing, is the first cemetery to use GPS coordinates for burial plots and to utilize a mapping system. It may come as a shock to many that cremated remains do not possess the same legal rights as bodies. A placement at Life Forest comes with these rights and control over one's own burial plot, Bennett said. "It was quite the shake-up in the cemetery world," she said of her and co-founder John O'Neil's shared beliefs and mindset for Life Forest. O'Neil is the previously mentioned friend with real estate and law knowledge who provided financial backing and brought in key players to the process with his professional know-how. Another arm to the Life Forest mission, Bennett explained, is to eliminate the fear factor children often associate with cemeteries, just as her mother did for them so many years ago. Bennett's brother Mike is now the facilities supervisor at Life Forest. In that vein, she seeks to hold community events there, such as story walks and their recent well-attended Midnight Market with lit trees and vendors. "It was magical and lovely," Bennett said of the fundraising event that supports their steward program. They work with the state's guardianship program as well, providing no-cost or a sliding-scale fee to those under state care. This began thanks to Traci Denver, director of burial services, who was passionate about providing death records for individuals under guardianship. "This has been really rewarding and people are grateful that (these individuals) didn't just disappear," Bennett expressed. "It's important to our mission." Her goal is to be upfront and honest with all costs and to not sidewind loved ones in their moments of grief. The team abides by a strict code of conduct that mandates the importance of listening rather than telling. Next month, Life Forest will be listed as one of the top cemeteries in the country by "American Cemetery & Cremation" magazine, a milestone Bennett is extremely proud to have accomplished in four short years. Her goal is for Life Forest to expand into every state so that the experience is accessible for everyone. Death care education is key, she said. Ask questions of the funeral professionals around legacy protection and ensure that burial is at a legal cemetery that keeps state vital records. "These are important decisions and people should have all the information they need," Bennett said. Inevitably, she came to an eye-opening revelation while on her healing journey, after spending time with other families who had also lost a loved one to Alzheimer's. "I realized that I didn't create Life Forest for my mom," she shared. "She created it for me." For more information about Life Forest and available services, visit thelifeforest.com.