Green Meadow at Fountain Hill Cemetery: A Natural Burial Ground

Reminder: Please join us for our Planting Day tomorrow, Saturday, April 24. We'll start at 9:00 am. Bring a hand trowel if you can, so we can get those 450 periwinkle plugs into the garden ground. Hope to see you at the cemetery!

Dear Friends of Green Meadow: As the Lehigh Valley’s only natural cemetery enters its ninth year of serving families in our region, we look to 2021 as the year we expand the burial ground and update the garden in front of the sign. Working with landscape architect Dave Cooper, we recently drafted a plan for new burial sections in the grassy area to the west of the current meadow. All fall and winter, the first of those sections sat under black tarp, killing the existing turf.... As we did with the original meadow, we’ll shortly proceed to thatch and scarify the area and seed it with our mix of wildflowers and native grasses. Dave also created a plan for the garden that limits our need to weed it. To that end, we’ll add to the bank of Bluestar that have thrived in the area directly before the sign; around them, we’ll plant periwinkle to serve as ground cover (and install other plantings to the west, as well). Making these plans a reality will require your help. So, we’re asking everyone to participate in our seasonal work day on: April 24 (Saturday), at 9:00 am 12:00. Rain date is April 25 (Sunday). We’ll need people to rake and reseed the exiting meadow. Others are needed to plant the 450 plugs of periwinkle in the garden. We’ve got a few other tasks that need helping hands, too. As we look ahead, we also need volunteers to assume leadership roles. The small leadership team that’s been the driving force behind Green Meadow has been working for a decade now. We need new members to replace them and take the meadow into the next decade. Please contact me at the number below if you’d like to join our team. Ed Vogrins. Manager. Phone: 610-868-4840. Web: www.GreenMeadowPa.org

Want to blow/rake leaves? Our parent cemetery, Fountain Hill, is looking for volunteers to clear the traditional part of the grounds this Saturday, Nov 20, from 9:00 to 12:00. All welcome!

We're mowing the meadow, as we do every fall, to promote new growth in the spring. (We'd do a controlled burn if the Powers the Be would allow it.) Note: we are taking out tree saplings (as in photo #1) and bushes from individual graves. Over time, they'd take over a number of graves.

If you've visited recently, you've seen the black tarp we've laid down over sections of the meadow. We did that to kill existing vegetation so we can seed/reseed the areas in the spring. The big black tarp (in photo #2) represents the section we're expanding into. More to come about this.

On Friday, we met with our landscape architect, Dave Cooper (below left) , who is advising us on how to redesign the garden in front of the sign. We'll also be working on the corner of the meadow, up where the road meets the woods. Improvements coming!

Jonathan Safran Foer, well-known novelist/writer and recently the author of terrific book on climate change is "coming" to Moravian College tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7:00 pm, via Zoom. You're welcome to Zoom in on his climate change talk, via this link https://moravian.zoom.us//regist/WN_3KSrbAK4QH-ofypy29B3zQ

Free firewood! Cut your own from major limbs that crashed into the cemetery after last week's storm. Location: just north of Green Meadow sign.

Everything you ever wanted to learn about green burial! It's at this online conference in mid October. I'm honored to join these presenters, the founders of the movement. Enroll in a single session or for the entire conference.