PLYMOUTH NH — The first natural burial ground in New Hampshire has opened in Benton, NH,
located in central Grafton County.

Natural burials eliminate concrete or fiberglass vaults, employ simple cooling techniques
instead of chemical embalming, and use only shrouds or caskets made from biodegradable
materials instead of imported rainforest woods, metals, or synthetic fabrics.
A small group of volunteers in the Plymouth region spearheaded the effort by forming White

Mountain Conservation Burial (WMCB), a cemetery nonprofit required by the State for
operating a cemetery in NH. The 28.9-acre property in Benton Flats has been donated to the nonprofit for the purpose of
public burial and conservation by Benton residents Gil and Laura Richardson who are widely
known throughout NH as the leading pioneers in the sustainable energy movement in NH.

The nonprofit is led by Plymouth resident Lee Webster, well-known advocate for natural burials
with experience leading the Green Burial Council and Conservation Burial Alliance, both
national organizations dedicated to furthering sustainable burial practices, along with NH
Funeral Resources.

Most cemeteries in NH are run by municipalities and churches that usually restrict their use to
their own taxpayers or congregants. Oliverian welcomes anyone who chooses burial in a natural
setting.

Volunteers have been hard at work this past fall mowing and clearing
space in the Meadow, and removing tree limbs throughout the Grove, both burial areas that
are available for immediate use. Future phases will include additional acreage devoted to
burial, plus recreational trails, across the Oliverian Brook.

The property abuts the White Mountain National Forest and is adjacent to other parcels already
under conservation easement with the State of New Hampshire. Oliverian is also in close proximity to Owl’s Head Cliff, a unique rock formation north of the hamlet of Glencliff. It is the location used by the Audubon Society to release fledgling Peregrine Falcons in the late 1980’s and is still a monitored nesting location for wild breeding pairs.

To learn more about Oliverian Everlasting Burial Ground and White Mountain Conservation
Burial, go to www.whitemountainconservationburial.org>Find a Burial Ground.

For more information about natural burial and efforts to open natural burial grounds
throughout the state, go to Natural Burial New Hampshire at www.naturalburialnh.org.