March 2021

Page A29 MARCH 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Call 651-450-7727 to request a wholesale catalog, Our Extra-Large Cremains Bags (13”x 15”) are perfectly sized for the Standard Plastic Human Service Urn. or visit UrnBags.com to order some bags. Just $2.90 each*. * Bags sold in multiples of 10 Choose from Black, Blue, or Burgundy J t $3. 0 each* 2021 ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition www.iccfaconvention.com Networking. Education. Community. Whether you attend for continuing education or to see the latest products and services, the 2021 ICCFA Annual Convention and Exposition will be an experience crafted with your professional needs in mind. AC21_NOMIS_March2021.indd 1 2/8/21 4:45 PM SEATTLE,WA— Katrina Spade, found- er of Recompose, first began thinking of the idea for a natural organic recomposition (or NOR) funeral home in the summer of 2011. She was watching her young son, who seemed to be growing up quickly, and she be- gan to think of her own mortality. The idea went through many stages, prototypes, and trials before becoming what it currently is. Katrina’s dream was to pro- vide an ecological death care option for urban lifestyles. Af- ter years of design, develop- ment, fundraising, and col- laboration, Katrina’s dream has come true. She has created the first full-service human- composting funeral home in the United States. The Greenhouse, the name of Recompose’s first facility, sits among warehouses and light-industrial workshops in the city of Kent, WA. The outside looks just like the buildings around it, but inside, it is “a sleek, futuristic spaceship: spare, calm, utili- tarian,” according to the Seattle Times. There is silvery ductwork along the ceiling and fern-green walls with bags of straw stacked along shelves and potted plants throughout. The vessels, where the human composting Katrina Spade Recompose’s Facility, The Greenhouse holds its First NOR Burials bodies from California and the East Coast. Burial at the Greenhouse includes the lay- ing-in, which family and friends can join via streaming video. The soil can then be picked up at the Kent location or donated to the Bells Mountain conservation forest or a com- bination of both. Those that choose to do- nate to Bells Mountain, a 700-acre land trust in southern Washington state, will receive a 64-ounce container of soil. NOR results in one cu- bic yard of soil, which is more than many families can uti- lize. Therefore, Recompose gives the option of donating the soil to the legally protect- ed wilderness of Bells Moun- tain. The land’s caretakers use the donated soil to support the revitalization of wetlands, habitats, plants, and wildlife species. Beginning in 2021, Bells Mountain began accept- ing visitors, including tours for friends and family members of Recompose clients who have donated their soil as well as individuals who are interested in choosing Recompose for themselves. For more information, visit Recompose’s website at http://Recompose.life or call 206-800-TREE. takes place, are white hexa- gons combined into what appears to be an enormous honeycomb. Inside are the steel cylinder cradles, which in mid-January, housed eight individuals, with the first bodies being laid to rest on December 20, 2020. The initial part of the pro- cess, which they call “lay- ing-in,” involves placing the body in the cradle and sur- rounding it with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw. The cradle is then placed into a Recom- pose vessel and covered with more plant material. The body and plant materials re- main in the vessel for thirty days while microbes break everything down on a mo- lecular level, forming a nutri- ent-dense soil. The Greenhouse has worked with over a doz- en families, and thanks to Zoom video calls, some fam- ilies have been able to join the laying-in remotely. The services manager, Morgan Yarborough, often closes the service with these words: “Over the next thirty days, the familiar form and shape of your person will change, and their molecules will cy- cle back into the universe. We will hold in our hearts a duality: both the immense heartbreak and immense beauty of knowing that the time for this change is here.” This statement applies not only on a personal level to those dealing with death, but on a global level as we all face the changes that NOR offers us. Recompose provides fam- ilies with more than just the transformation into soil via NOR. They will file the death certificate and post an obituary on their website. They also can transport the body from local counties, including King, Pierce, and Snohomish, while transport from other counties involves an additional fee. Recom- pose has already accepted News Funeral Home & Cemetery online Visit our website at www.nomispublications.com

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