SPECIAL REPORT: Ditching gravestones for trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains

The Santa Cruz mountains will soon be the final resting place for people looking for a non-traditional cemetery.

A company called “Better Place Forests” is turning away from gravestones, and toward trees.

Though the Santa Cruz location isn’t open just yet, reservations are already flying in.

KION took a tour through the redwoods, where people are taking the term “family tree” very literally.

It’s a story that starts with heartbreak.

“Unfortunately when I was 10 my father died and when I was 11 my mother died, so I spent my whole life going to my parents’ grave and the cemetery and it was never a place I wanted so be, so we wanted to create something that was like a cemetery, but instead one that was full of beauty and life.”

And that’s exactly what Sandy Gibson did. He’s the CEO of Better Place Forests, a startup with the goal of changing the end of life experience, while also trying to protect the land.

“We buy the forests, and we permanently protect them by partnering with local land trusts, so your family’s tree is your family’s tree forever. You can spread the ashes of multiple generations of family beneath your tree over time,” says Gibson.

The process begins when a family brings their loved one’s ashes to the forest where they’ve chosen a tree.

Those ashes are mixed with the local soil at the base of the tree to rebalance the pH, allowing the ashes to naturally break down and feed nutrients to the tree and entire forest.

And it’s a unique type of burial hundreds have signed up for.

“When we first heard about the concept of having your loved one’s ashes actually grow up into a redwood tree, we thought what a beautiful memorial, what a wonderful way to have our loved ones live on,” says Dennise Carter.

The newest location in the Santa Cruz mountains isn’t opening until next year, but many have already reserved their tree. For Kellidee Little, when she heard her dog Lucky could be buried with her, she was convinced its something she wanted to do.

“I knew I wanted to be cremated always pretty much, but where I was going to be interned I never really thought about it and then I saw the advertisement on Facebook and I thought, oh yeah, I would love that, I would love to be in the forest and protect the forest and all that.”

A special ceremony is held for every person whose ashes are spread.

“The ceremony is about connecting the family to the place because ultimately what we believe is so important about a cemetery or a forest memorial like this is the sense of place for your family to remember you and your life story and the ritual that connects you to it to have a ceremony so people can leave and have that memory,” says Gibson.

And each tree carries a different meaning for every person.

“I picked a tree in a little grove, there’s 4 other little trees in that spot and it’s a tree that has good sunlight at the top, it’s a great tree,” says Judy Knaute.

Gibson says when the business first started, people were skeptical. But now he’s turned that skepticism into his passion of helping others.

“There’s very few times in our life that we get to write our own story but when you choose the place where you’ll spend forever, you get to write your own ending and I think whether you choose Better Place Forests or a traditional cemetery, it’s just important to have the chance to make that choice and feel the empowerment of making the choice for your own life.”

Another reason Gibson believes better place forests is appealing to many is the price. To buy your spot beneath a tree starts at just under $3000.

For more information on Better Place Forests, click here.