Better Place Forests honors past loved ones in Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV)- Better Place Forests is America’s first memorial forest, right here in Santa Cruz county. It allows surviving family members to pick out a memorial tree that serves as a resting place for loved ones. 

Rachel Smith, who recently lost her son, shared stories and gathered at Better Place Forests today to honor and spread his ashes at the protected tree site.

“So many families have come through and selected their memorial trees in this place because it has a beautiful presence," Tyler Wilmoth who is the Better Place Forests General Manager said. "It has a serenity and a peacefulness and a sense of calm that is really craved."

There are 84 acres of protected forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains where families can pick out a tree in honor their past loved ones.

“We do the first combination of soil and ash together we had some dried wildflowers into that vessel, and then we moved together as a group to the families tree," Wilmoth said. "They spread the ashes at the base of the tree again being involved as much as little as they would like in the process.” 

Smith purchased the tree for her son who passed away from a heart condition. They wanted to commemorate him in Better Place Forests.

“We came to make sure we secured it, but made sure that it was the right," Smith said. "It definitely resonated as I walked up and felt spot and it’s a young tree as you can tell that compared to the other tree and that was fitting and so when I saw it in person I was like for sure this is it.” 

Rachel and her daughter, Imani, chose tree 105 and added a memorial marker. They believe spreading his ashes in nature here, is important.

“It’s really peaceful being here, I definitely feel the presence of my brother and it honors his spiritual beliefs a lot so I think that was really important to him and it’s important to our culture in our ancestry," Imani Wilson from Better Place Forests said.

People are able to pick out a memorial tree of their choice either online or visiting the forest to honor their past loved one.

This month Better Place Forests is planting double the number of saplings in your honor when you choose to purchase a memorial tree.