Red Hills Community Cemetery

11/03/2025

We are thrilled to be a finalist for the Energy Innovator at ReThink Enegy’s Energy Ball this week. Thank you, ReThink Energy!

10/30/2025

A beautiful (13 min) video about Gainesville’s Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery - they’ve been a remarkable support to RHCC as we work to open our natural burial cemetery here.

What is to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?"— Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

10/21/2025

A special thank you to FSU and Professor Chris Coutts who invited us to speak to his class today. Thank you, Planning Dept. students, for the great questions and encouragemebt. We were happy to explain what’s involved in planning a natural burial cemetery. We look forward to seeing your contributions through good urban and regional planning.

10/18/2025

Natural burial cemeteries as a way to conserve land? Yes!

Thank you, Capital Area section of the American Planning Association, for hosting the panel about land planning and the importace of conservation cemeteries to preserve natural spaces.

Conservation cemeteries protect the land and provide a multi-use space for the community. It’s a natural burial space in the forest with no embalming & only biodegradable caskets/shrouds. A space to honor our departed loved ones. Butbits not a single-use space like a modern cemetery with manicured lawns and riws of headstones.

Conservation cemeteries have serene walking paths for contemplation, exercise, bird watching, and hiking in a natural setting.

We are so excited to be creating the Red Hills Community Cemetery - we’re up to 97 members! It’s a remarkable way to give back to the earth as your final act. ❤️

10/14/2025

Thank you, Kiwanis Club, for hosting the RHCC yesterday. It was great letting people know more about the natural burial cemetery we’re creating and getting your feedback!

We have over 500 people signed up for our newsletter now! Go to RedHillsCommunityCemetery.com to sign up and stay connected.

09/25/2025

Green burial practices give the family an option of helping with the burial.

When people imagine a grave being prepared, they often think of big machinery, vaults, and heavy headstones. But in green burial, the setup looks and feels completely different. 🌿

This photo shows the preparation of a hand-dug grave at Eloise Woods natural burial ground in Texas. Instead of concrete, they use simple boards to frame the opening, ropes to gently lower the shrouded body or biodegradable casket, and the support of community hands to guide the process.

Everything here is intentional:
✨ The boards keep the ground stable and safe for family and friends.
✨ The wooden slats and ropes are tools of dignity, designed to lower a loved one slowly and respectfully.
✨ The setting itself is surrounded by trees, earth, and birdsong, reminding us that death is not an industrial process, but a return.

And if you look closely, you’ll see Kermit keeping watch. 🐾 Even he knows this is sacred work.

Green burial isn’t about adding more, it’s about removing what isn’t necessary. No vaults, no plastics, no chemicals. Just people, earth, and love.

Would you want your farewell to look like this: natural, simple, and connected to the land?🖼️

09/15/2025

Thank you, The Modern Mortician for posting about the Hickory Preserve and the Red Hills Community Cemetery!

09/15/2025

Learn more about Florida green burials on the 18th

You’re invited to our FREE Forum about Green Burial in Florida! Join us and eco-friendly funeral providers from throughout the state to learn about the growing eco-friendly funeral movement in Florida.

Featuring Special Guests…
- Steve Pomerantz of Gentle Water Cremation (gentlewater.com)
- Fawn Hendricks of Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve (glendalenaturepreserve.org)
- Lauren Robie of Hope Eternal Gardens (hopeeternalgardens.com)
- Rabbi Lyons of South Florida Jewish Cemetery (southfloridajewishcemetery.org)
- Shanti Vani, President of the Florida End-of-Life Doula Alliance (feolda.org)
- Laura Starkey of Heartwood Preserve (heartwoodpreserve.com)
- Heather Grove and Freddie Johnson of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery (prairiecreekconservationcemetery.org)

Don’t miss out on this FREE event! RSVP with the email below.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday September 18th, 2025

Time: 4 PM PDT, 5 PM MDT, 6 PM CDT, & 7 PM EDT

Location: Zoom

RSVP: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Top Image: Hope Eternal Gardens
Middle Image: Heartwood Preserve
Bottom Image: Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve

09/15/2025

The Modern Mortician is doing a tour of natural burial across the US. This is Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve in Defuniak Springs.

GREEN BURIAL – 50 States in 50 Days: 🌱Florida

In the Florida Panhandle near DeFuniak Springs, Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve spans 350 acres of longleaf pine forest, meadows, creeks, and ponds. One of the earliest conservation burial sites in the country, it combines natural burial with land preservation, ensuring the forest remains protected for generations.

🌲 A Living Return to the Earth
Burials here are conducted in harmony with the land. No embalming, no vaults, and only biodegradable containers are allowed, so that each person laid to rest becomes part of the forest’s renewal.

🌲 Conservation That Endures
What was once a working family farm is now a sanctuary where every burial contributes to restoring and protecting Florida’s native ecosystems. This is not just a cemetery, it is a place of stewardship and ecological care.

🌲 Simplicity, Stewardship & Serenity
Gravesites are nestled among trees and wildflowers, with modest natural markers that blend into the landscape. Families are invited to embrace simplicity while knowing their choices help conserve precious land.

Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve offers not only a final resting place but also a lasting gift to nature, an enduring legacy of care, peace, and preservation.

👉 Learn more here: https://glendalenaturepreserve.org/Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve
Photo credit to their website.

09/05/2025

Take a walk in the woods with us! Contact us to take a tour of the future home of the RHCC on Sunday the 14th at 8 am. This is your chance to see the beautiful Hickory Preserve land and the future home of Tallahassee’s first natural burial cemetery.