Trees For Our Children

Ok, I can understand how planting a tree helps the environment, but why plant trees in a cemetery? What’s so special in that?

Good question! Trees planted in cemeteries are safest for three reasons.

1. Cemetery land is only profitable when it’s undeveloped.

Cemeteries are resting places for our dead. They can’t remain that way if we build highway exit ramps, shopping malls, or an apartment complexes on them. Cemeteries need to remain green and verdant. The nicer, greener, and more verdant the cemetery grounds, the more business that cemetery can attract.

2. Cemeteries are safest from eminent domain land grabs.

Just recently the State of Michigan attempted a land grab on the Chapel Hill cemetery in southern Michigan for the purpose of building a highway exit ramp. It was soundly defeated though because people didn’t like the idea of a thousand cars driving through their mom and dads grave. I don’t either! Nobody I know does. It’s very hard politically to convince people to dishonor our loved ones that have passed on.

3. Cemeteries have large trust funds for the care of their grounds, including the trees.

Ten percent of all sales in a cemetery are put into a trust fund by law. When a cemetery has sold all of its grave plots the interest from the trust fund is used to continue to maintain the cemetery. The cemetery basically retires, and lives off the interest to pay a grounds crew to cut the grass, and care for the trees and buildings. It’s really a beautiful system, and I wish we used it with our taxes!

I hope you now realize the advantages of partnering with cemeteries for reforestation. Cemeteries love to partner with us because they get a “free” tree in effect to help with their landscaping, drainage, and soil erosion.

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—Heston Glenn