CEDAR CREEK, TX – A cemetery near Austin is making the burial process as natural as possible. Eloise Woods Community Natural Burial Park is one of the few cemeteries in the state that offers green burials, meaning no coffins or chemicals.
“A green burial doesn’t involve burying anything non-biodegradable or any chemicals. None of those things are required by law,” said Eloise Woods owner Ellen Macdonald said.
“A green burial doesn’t involve burying anything non-biodegradable or any chemicals. None of those things are required by law,” said Eloise Woods owner Ellen Macdonald said.
Macdonald opened Eloise Woods five years ago on almost 10 acres of land. So far, it has become the final resting place for 86 people and 98 pets.
“The idea being that we aren’t trying to protect people from nature. We want people to be able to decompose naturally and go back to nature as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Macdonald said.
Macdonald said she is legally able to operate the burial park because of its size and distance from the city limits. She said the law only governs the depth a body must be buried, which is 18 to 24 inches depending on how it is covered.
