Podcasts about cornerstone funeral services

Green Burial: Elizabeth Fournier, The Green Reaper Elizabeth Fournier, owner and founder of Cornerstone Funeral Services in Boring, Oregon, and the author of The Green Burial Handbook, talks about what green burial is, what it isn’t, and how you can work with a funeral director to get the kind of burial you or your loved ones want. Learn about the surprisingly non-environmentally friendly footprint of traditional cremation and the new practices of aqua-cremation and organic reduction. To find out more about Green Burial Resources: https://www.cornerstonefuneral.com/green-burial-resources Elizabeth specifically mentioned the Funeral Consumers Alliance and the Green Burial Council during the show. To ask a question for the show, email me at AskLiza@lifedeathlaw.com To listen to more episodes of Life/Death/Law, go to www.lifedeathlaw.com And follow me: twitter-twitter.com/lifedeathlaw instagram-Instagram.com/lifedeathlaw facebookcom/LifeDeathLaw Linkedin.com/in/lizahanks

Elizabeth Fournier always wanted to work in funeral service. She was drawn to the service in this profession, and fascinated by its technical skills. Today she works "for a better living" - with Nature's tech - and she's proudly known far and wide as The Green Reaper.         Fournier is a national advocate for Green Burial, practices that are changing her profession's enviro impacts, and helping her fellow humans better connect Life to our Earthly nature, at Life's end. She compares the importance of ecological funerals to our society's everyday efforts to decrease human impacts - by supporting renewable energy, by driving hybrid or electric cars, by eating healthy foods, by promoting sustainable agriculture, by using their own cloth bags at the grocery store, and so on. Fournier celebrates how the ideas of a green lifestyle are carrying over to how we handle the dead. Fournier's Cornerstone Funeral Services, outside Portland OR, makes her the Undertaker of Boring (OR), her tiny rural town. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, and lives on a farm with her husband, daughter, and many rescue goats. Her 2018 Green Burial Guidebook details the practical changes she champions.  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms audio engineer, and to Jon Valley of KDHX Production. Related Earthworms Conversations: Greenwood Cemetery: History, Community, Profound Restoration (Jan 2018, - update April 2022) Walking Sacred Ground with Robert Fishbone, artist of Labyrinths (Sept 2019) In the Company of Trees with Forest Bathing advocate Andrea Sarubbi Fareshteh (Jan 2018) Earthworms Host Note: After years of learning and talking about these sustainable options, I attended a Green Burial this summer. Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum, a venerable St. Louis historic site, is a national leader in advancing Green Burial. Their service for a dear friend's sister, Mary Ann, was simple and moving. Her body was wrapped in a linen shroud, so her physical form was right there with us. She was a tall woman. Gracie, one of Bellefontaine's staff I know through Green work, led her crew in bringing Mary Ann's body to the grave site, drawn on a wooden cart with big metal wheels. A wreath of flowers lay over her heart. The open grave was shallow, maybe only three feet deep, lined with a profusion of plant matter! In the center of the mass of pine boughs, prairie grasses and all kinds of flowers was a circle of sunflower blooms.  After the simple service, Bellefontaine staff lowered Mary Ann's body into the grave with long fabric straps. No machinery, no concrete, no elaborate box. Simply a human body, laid gently into Earth. Three huge urns of flowers and leafy branches were waiting by the grave. Everyone joined in covering Mary Ann with these beautiful plants, and then we could take turns adding shovels from the pile of soil removed from the grave. The stuff of Earth will energize Earth's processes of decomposition, over time. No chemicals, nothing toxic. Everything formerly living, returning to Earth. I noted the trees around the gravesite Mary Ann had chosen. Oaks, the mightiest hosts of insect life, supporting and restoring bonds in the Web of Life our species works so hard to break. Elements of Body, Mind, Feeling and Spirit - all there, in a quiet and simple way. What a gift to be there on that summer day.   - Jean Ponzi   ​   Links: Greeenwood, Forest Bathing, previous Green Burial?

Social distancing measures meant to curb the effects of the novel coronavirus are forcing people to rethink what a funeral looks like right now. We talk with Elizabeth Fournier, the owner and undertaker at Cornerstone Funeral Services in Boring, Oregon and Marie Henry, a certified funeral celebrant and Portland-based market leader for Foundation Partners Group, a company that operates funeral homes and cemeteries around the country.

Did you know we bury enough metal in caskets each year to build a new Golden Gate Bridge? You’re living your life trying to be green. Have you given any thought to the impact of the way you exit the planet? What’s your final act? In this episode we explore how to exit gracefully, with a lighter footprint. Funeral director Elizabeth Fournier is known as the “green reaper,” for her and work to make information about “going green,” as your last heroic act of volunteerism, readily available to the public. Families can feel pressure, sometimes of their own making, to send someone off in high style. Fournier’s book, The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial, is a practical guide that can help you make decisions that are lighter on the planet, and happen to reduce funeral and burial costs. She owns and operates Cornerstone Funeral Services in the small town of Boring, Oregon. But we can promise you this episode is anything but boring. LINKS: The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial Cornerstone Funeral Services (includes excellent green burial resources) Why a ‘Green’ Burial is Best for the Environment Join the conversation on Facebook Make a donation to support this non-profit project. Archive of all episodes of the GrowthBusters podcast Subscribe to GrowthBusters email updates See the film – GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth Explore the issues at www.growthbusters.org View the GrowthBusters channel on YouTube Subscribe (free) so you don't miss an episode:

Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately known as “The Green Reaper”, is small town Funeral Director in Boring, Oregon. She is the owner and undertaker for Cornerstone Funeral Services, operating on a goat farm alongside her husband, daughter, and many rescue goats. Elizabeth’s compassionate service intersects with environmental conservation in her book, “The Green Burial Guidebook,” a step-by-step guide to burial practices that consider both the environmental well-being of the planet and the economic well-being of loved ones. In this episode, we talk about: What green burial is How the funeral industry is currently using earth-toxic methods for burial The legal zoning for green burial in all 50 states Rebuilding ancestral land sites Elizabeth’s connection to Mt. Hood and surrounding land Rekindling ancestral practice and personal relationships with the deceased Living by the moon How she gained interest and experience in the funeral industry A sneak peek into Elizabeth’s books, The Green Burial Guidebook, The Green Reaper, and All Men Are Cremated Equal Links: Learn more about Elizabeth and her books at www.thegreenreaper.org/ Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram @elizabethgreenreaper Explore Elizabeth’s funeral service offerings at www.cornerstonefuneral.com/ Tune in to Elizabeth’s Portland-based radio show, “Until we meet again” Check out Elizabeth’s episode on For the Wild

Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately known as “The Green Reaper”, is small town Funeral Director in Boring, Oregon. She is the owner and undertaker for Cornerstone Funeral Services, operating on a goat farm alongside her husband, daughter, and many rescue goats. Elizabeth’s compassionate service intersects with environmental conservation in her book, “The Green Burial Guidebook,” a step-by-step guide to burial practices that consider both the environmental well-being of the planet and the economic well-being of loved ones. In this episode, we talk about: What green burial is How the funeral industry is currently using earth-toxic methods for burial The legal zoning for green burial in all 50 states Rebuilding ancestral land sites Elizabeth’s connection to Mt. Hood and surrounding land Rekindling ancestral practice and personal relationships with the deceased Living by the moon How she gained interest and experience in the funeral industry A sneak peek into Elizabeth’s books, The Green Burial Guidebook, The Green Reaper, and All Men Are Cremated Equal Links: Learn more about Elizabeth and her books at www.thegreenreaper.org/ Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram @elizabethgreenreaper Explore Elizabeth’s funeral service offerings at www.cornerstonefuneral.com/ Tune in to Elizabeth’s Portland-based radio show, “Until we meet again” Check out Elizabeth’s episode on For the Wild

When it comes to the environment, we Americans love to volunteer. Millions of us recycle, grow our own vegetables, and even clean our beloved hiking trails. But have you given much thought to the ultimate act of environmental volunteerism? You know, the one gift you give... after you die? We love to be eco-friendly at Cornerstone Funeral in Boring, Oregon.

When it comes to the environment, we Americans love to volunteer. Millions of us recycle, grow our own vegetables, and even clean our beloved hiking trails. But have you given much thought to the ultimate act of environmental volunteerism? You know, the one gift you give... after you die? We love to be eco-friendly at Cornerstone Funeral in Boring, Oregon.

In part two of "Green Burials," Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called the Green Reaper, continues our discussion on planning an affordable and environmentally friendly burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burials in North America. Green burials come in many shades of green; today, we discuss "50 Shades of Green." All of this leads to being proactive when it comes to how we want to leave this world.

In part two of "Green Burials," Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called the Green Reaper, continues our discussion on planning an affordable and environmentally friendly burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burials in North America. Green burials come in many shades of green; today, we discuss "50 Shades of Green." All of this leads to being proactive when it comes to how we want to leave this world.

Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called “The Green Reaper,” is the author of The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services, outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burial in North America.

Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called “The Green Reaper,” is the author of The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services, outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burial in North America.

If there's one thing we can all count on, it's that our lives will come to an end. And it's that finality that we can summon to harness a tremendous sense of purpose across our lives. We get just one shot at this thing called life – what will you do with your precious gift? Our enemy is complacency, believing we have “our whole lives in front of us,” yet we simply have no purview into just when we will leave the world. All the more critical that each day we live with passion, anchor ourselves in energy and gratitude in connection with others, and work on purpose. In this episode, we talk with someone who has a very unique vantage point on the matter: undertaker Elizabeth Fournier.

If there's one thing we can all count on, it's that our lives will come to an end. And it's that finality that we can summon to harness a tremendous sense of purpose across our lives. We get just one shot at this thing called life – what will you do with your precious gift? Our enemy is complacency, believing we have “our whole lives in front of us,” yet we simply have no purview into just when we will leave the world. All the more critical that each day we live with passion, anchor ourselves in energy and gratitude in connection with others, and work on purpose. In this episode, we talk with someone who has a very unique vantage point on the matter: undertaker Elizabeth Fournier.

If there's one thing we can all count on, it's that our lives will come to an end. And it's that finality that we can summon to harness a tremendous sense of purpose across our lives. We get just one shot at this thing called life – what will you do with your precious gift? Our enemy is complacency, believing we have “our whole lives in front of us,” yet we simply have no purview into just when we will leave the world. All the more critical that each day we live with passion, anchor ourselves in energy and gratitude in connection with others, and work on purpose. In this episode, we talk with someone who has a very unique vantage point on the matter: undertaker Elizabeth Fournier.

When we say “sustainability,” the first thing you think about is how we bury our dead, right? Ok, we rarely think about it either, but by the end of this episode, we think you’ll agree that green burial has a significant environmental impact. We also hope the episode spurs conversations with your loved ones about your (and their) end of life wishes. The perfect guest joins us to chat about this interesting topic - Elizabeth Fournier, also known as “The Green Reaper.” With a nickname like that, we knew that she could keep up with our bad jokes. Enjoy this lively episode about green burial! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Scott Breen and Jay Siegel. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

This week on the podcast Kelly and I talk to undertaker, funeral home owner and author of The Green Burial Guidebook Elizabeth Fournier. Elizabeth, known affectionately as the “Green Reaper,” owns and operates Cornerstone Funeral Services in Boring, Oregon (we’re not making that up). She serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council. […]

Bill welcomes author and undertaker Elizabeth Fournier to the show. Elizabeth, known as The Green Reaper, is the owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services, outside of Portland, Oregon, in a tiny town called Boring. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, and lives on a farm with her husband, daughter and many rescue goats. She is also the author of The Green Burial Guide: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. Don't miss it.

In part two of "Green Burials," Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called the Green Reaper, continues our discussion on planning an affordable and environmentally friendly burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burials in North America. Green burials come in many shades of green; today, we discuss "50 Shades of Green." All of this leads to being proactive when it comes to how we want to leave this world.

In part two of "Green Burials," Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called the Green Reaper, continues our discussion on planning an affordable and environmentally friendly burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burials in North America. Green burials come in many shades of green; today, we discuss "50 Shades of Green." All of this leads to being proactive when it comes to how we want to leave this world.

Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called “The Green Reaper,” is the author of The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services, outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burial in North America.

Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately called “The Green Reaper,” is the author of The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. She is owner and operator of Cornerstone Funeral Services, outside of Portland, Oregon. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Green Burial Council, which sets the standard for green burial in North America.

http://www.alainguillot.com/elizabeth-fournier/ The typical burial in North America cost about $10,000. The sad thing about that absurd prices is that the surviving members of the family are too sad, too stressed, and under a time limit to shop around for better options. In addition to losing a loved member of the family, two other bad things happen: Generally, families don't have $10,000 at their disposal to pay for funeral arrangements. Many families go into debt. Every burial creates too much damage to the environment. Burials across North America use tons of good wood, concrete, metals as well as millions of gallons of carcinogenic embalming fluid. Imagine that your aunt who has always been conscious of the environment. It would be disturbing to know that her last interaction with the planet would be one of pollution. [caption id="attachment_5479" align="aligncenter" width="546"] This burial is very polluting. Look at the hard wood, the metal, the concrete vault.[/caption] Expenses related to a burial Basic Fees Funeral planning Permits and copies of death certificates Preparation of notices Sheltering the body Coordination of with cemetery, cremation, or other parties Optional Services and merchandise Transportation (you can use your own vehicle) Embalming and other preparations (This is carcinogenic fluid are not necessary. Eliminating this service can save you hundreds of dollars) Use of funeral home for the viewing (This can done at other venues or not done at all) Casket: The average casket costs slightly more than $2,000, but mahogany, bronze or copper caskets can sell for as much as $10,000. Pine caskets are a less expensive option, but funeral homes don't like to display them. You can buy one from Cosco, Amazon, or Walmart for significantly less. Casket rental: If you decide to cremate, you can rent the casket, you don't have to buy it. [caption id="attachment_5480" align="aligncenter" width="659"] This is an inexpensive and environmentally friendly burial[/caption] Environmental damage Hundreds of pound of good wood used as caskets Metals Cushion Burial vaults made of cement Gallons of toxic, carcinogenic embalming fluid The disposal of the blood in the water system. The waste of land use as cemeteries. The maintenance of the green grass in the cemetery. Hundreds of hour of labor plus the pollution generated by the machinery to cut the grass and make it look natural. There is nothing more unnatural than golf course grass. No to mention all the chemicals used as fertilizers. Alternative to polluting burials Natural burial: burial in a way to allow natural decomposition of the body. In Quebec, natural burials are not allowed. In some other provinces, allowed. In some states in the United States, it's allowed. In some other states, it's not allowed. Highlights from the interview [caption id="attachment_5481" align="aligncenter" width="317"] Elizabeth Fournier[/caption] Elizabeth Fournier, also known as the "Green Reaper,"  has been in the funeral industry for 28 years. She started her career as a funeral director and then she opened her own funeral home, Cornerstone Funeral Services, in Boring, Oregon. At one time, Elizabeth was also a ballroom instructor (like me :) ) During her infancy, she saw the death of many family members and she became familiar with the procedures. As she was living her life, friends would ask her opinion and when their relative would pass away. A lot of people are unprepared for all the expenses of death. A regular person lives on the financial edge, just barely making it, then they go through the long period of pre-death, which is very expensive. Finally, at the time of death, the family finds out the true cost of death. "It's free to be born, but it's not free to die." People can plan their wedding, people can plan to have kids, but sometimes death arrives by surprise and there are no financial arrangements for the dead. It's an expense that for the most part, the family members have to pay right away. Natural burials have always been the norm until about 150 years ago. In the United States, people started embalming at the time of the Civil War, when there were a lot of bodies that needed to be preserved until they were transported to their families. The most popular form of burial is by cremation because it's less expensive, but natural burials are gaining popularity and it's growing. One of the new tendencies of the industry is called water cremation. Other more creative things are: sending the ashes into space; creating diamond rings or earrings with the ashes, tattoo ink and having a tattoo. The Book: The Green Burial Guidebook The book is a step-by-step guide on how to: Plan your green burial What are the home funeral basics, What are the legal guidelines How to save lots of money in the process Recommendations Book: You Need A Budget by Jessie Mecham Blog: Every Day Minimalist The Penny Hoarder Podcast: Money Girl Other resources How to donate your organs if you live in Quebec How to donate your body to science if you live in Quebec. Note: If you donate your body, your burial expenses will be covered by the university or hospital who takes control of your body.

EOC's guest on this installation of the Eyes on Conservation podcast has not only seen the profit-driven side of death, but was able to break free of something she saw as misleading, opportunistic, and ultimately serving the needs of neither the mourners, nor the deceased. Elizabeth Fournier is the owner and Funeral Director of Cornerstone Funeral Services, an institution dedicated to reducing the unnecessary costs of funeral services, restoring monetary and economical justice to clients, the deceased, and planet Earth, by offering the greenest practices possible when laying loved ones to rest. Her paradoxically radical and refreshingly simple methods have led her closest family and friends to dub her, The Green Reaper.