Celebrant seeks site for human composting project
A local celebrant is hoping to change the way islanders view death through the proposed creation of a special memorial park.
Wedding and funeral celebrant Aindre Reece-Sheerin is looking for at least five acres of land in order to begin the project which, if his vision is fully realised, would become a place for people to honour their deceased loved ones through non-religious services, cremation and human composting – an alternative end-of-life process whereby a body is buried under soil and mulch, placed in a specialised vessel or container, and converted into compost by naturally-occurring microbes over a matter of weeks.
The practice, also known as natural organic reduction, is currently illegal in Guernsey and the UK, but is legal in six American states and Sweden.
Mr Reece-Sheerin was optimistic that having more open conversations about death would eventually lead to local law changes that would make it possible.
‘I think it’s a brilliant idea, returning your loved one’s body to the earth so that it can be used to plant trees or be used on farm land seems so natural to me,’ he said.
He was inspired to come up with the idea for a memorial park after an experience he had mourning the death of his pet cat while living on a farm in France about 20 years ago.
‘I had to cremate it as I wasn’t allowed to bury it on farm land due to contamination risks, so I ended up creating a little memorial area instead.’
He envisioned an island memorial park to eventually be full of trees and plants grown using the hundreds of bodies composted on-site in glasshouses, with other features including a crematorium, maze, plaque and an area for composting pets.
‘I want to provide a place with no religious trappings that people can come to and appreciate the contribution their loved one is making to the natural world, even in death,’ he said.
‘Ultimately I’d love for it to be left to the people of Guernsey and the National Trust.’
Regarding safety risks, he was confident the practices taking place in the park would not contaminate the soil or water supply.
‘Guernsey has a high water table so nothing would get into the ground water,’ he said.
‘I have also been in touch with a guy who is able to treat human ashes in such a way that there is no contamination risk to the soil.’
He added that there were ‘hundreds’ of volunteers ready to help him bring the project to life.
‘We’ve got a myriad of ideas and are just hoping someone who is wanting to get rid of any land will see this.’
