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T&I Stockman

Planning A Woodland Burial

At Stockman & Loram, we understand that funeral planning can be difficult; and as a family-run service operating across Torbay, Teignbridge and South Hams, we’ve always placed you and your loved one’s wishes at the forefront of our service. That’s why we provide a wide range of personalised, bespoke funeral plans, designed to create the perfect send-off for your loved one, intended to celebrate the life of those closest to us in the way they would have wanted.


If your loved one had a particular fondness for the outdoors, natural beauty and the environment, we believe that our bespoke eco-friendly funerals and woodland burial services could be the perfect farewell. In this helpful guide, we provide information on eco-friendly funerals, how best to plan a woodland burial, and how Stockman & Loram can help.


Eco-Friendly Funerals


An increasingly popular alternative to the traditional funeral and burial service, eco-friendly funerals are categorised by their intention to greatly reduce harmful or wasteful materials that would ordinarily be used in preparation for the burial process. Eco-friendly funerals place the environment at the forefront of your plans, offering methods of reducing your negative environmental impact whilst ensuring you give your loved ones the send-off they deserve.


An eco-friendly is generally categorised by the following:


  • A natural/green burial service in a memorial ground or cemetery

  • A natural/green burial service at home or on private land

  • A natural/green burial service in a woodland area


Eco-friendly funerals help reduce the environmental impact of your burial service to offer a natural setting that’s completely in line with your intended funeral service. Generally, eco-friendly funerals take place in natural environments, such as wildflower meadows, woodlands and more, returning the body to the earth in the most natural way possible.


Green Funerals


Taking place in specific locations, whilst making use of eco-friendly coffins that are generally biodegradable, green funerals are an extension of the above, placing even greater emphasis on the impact your funeral service will have on the environment.


At Stockman & Loram, we’re always available to offer advice and helpful guidance on funeral planning, to ensure your loved one has the send-off they deserve. Below are some key tips to consider when planning a green funeral burial service:


  • Don’t embalm the body

  • Use a biodegradable casket or shroud instead of a traditional coffin

  • Allow the burial to take place in a green cemetery or natural burial site

  • Hold a small service; minimise the number of guests to reduce unnecessary travel

  • Plant a tree instead of a headstone or memorial.


Embalming is not permitted with green burials, due to the chemicals used in the process, whilst the body should be buried in a biodegradable coffin made of natural materials. In many cases, the body may be wrapped in a shroud instead.


What’s A Woodland Burial?


A specific, and highly popular type of eco-friendly burial service, is the woodland burial. A woodland burial service is ideally set against the backdrop of a vast woodland area, with tall trees, roaming hills and green countryside the ideal setting to say goodbye to a loved one.


Designed to lower the environmental impact of a funeral service, as well as provide a type of service that is entirely natural and in line with a loved one’s wishes, woodland burial services make use of eco-friendly coffins, prohibit embalming and help preserve the natural environment, woodlands and creatures that inhabit them.


Woodland Burial Sites


Situated in Cockington Country Park in Torbay, as part of Conqueror Wood, an 18-acre woodland planted in 2005, Stockman & Loram are proud to offer beautiful, bespoke woodland burial funerals featuring impressive views. Better yet; for every green burial service we provide, a memorial tree is planted nearby, to grow our woodland even further, whilst the woodland area itself attracts a delightful array of wildlife species, insects and wildflowers.


In fact, Conqueror Wood is home to many butterfly species, thanks to the rough-cut glades offering sheltered spaces for them to roam, whilst hedgerows are home to the rare and endangered Cirl Bunting. Wild species, such as hedgehogs, badgers, foxes and stoats are all present in the area, whilst birdlife such as Barn Owls, Kestrels and Great-Spotted Woodpeckers can all be found nearby.


At Stockman & Loram, we are also able to arrange green funerals in a number of other locations across South Devon. Our current list of green and/or woodland burial sites includes:


  • Conqueror Wood – Torbay

  • Sharpham Meadow – near Totnes

  • Bidwell Woodland Burial at Rattery – near Totnes

  • Crossways – Cheriton Bishop

  • Yealmpton Woodland Burial – Yealmpton, near Kingsbridge


At Stockman & Loram, our Woodland Burial site is situated in Torbay’s Cockington Country Park, part of Conqueror Wood. An 18-acre woodland. Conqueror Park features impressive views, and a wide range of bride species, plants and wildlife.


What Happens At A Woodland Burial?


At Stockman & Loram, our green funeral and woodland burial services can be effortlessly combined with any type of funeral, be it religious, or non-religious, to ensure your loved one has the send-off they deserve. This means we can offer a bespoke plan, tailored entirely to your requests, to create a thoughtful and personalised sendoff that both limits the impact on the environment and celebrates the life of your loved one in the most meaningful way possible.


For instance, we’re more than able to combine a traditional church burial that still has the environment at the forefront of your planning, offering traditional services with eco-friendly coffins or woodland burials to create a perfect, and environmentally-conscious sendoff.


We’ve made it our duty to provide woodland burials and eco-friendly funeral services to everyone, and in truth, most of what happens will entirely depend on you. We’re here to help, and our highly experienced and professional funeral directors are always on hand to offer the necessary guidance and support you need at this most delicate of times.


Eco Coffins


Organising a green funeral service will rely on more than the location you choose. It would also be determined by the materials you use for your coffin. Green funerals and woodland burials will typically endorse eco-coffins, which are designed to be biodegradable, to reduce the impact on the natural environment. Generally, eco coffins are made from materials such as;


  • Cardboard

  • Bamboo

  • Wicker

  • Wool

  • Wood


When organising a woodland burial, there’s a strong chance that an eco-coffin will be recommended as the best possible option for returning loved ones to nature in a simple, yet dignified manner. At Stockman & Loram, we’re proud to offer a wide range of bespoke eco-friendly coffins for green funerals from a range of materials, as well as colour picture coffins in hundreds of designs.


Stockman & Loram – Family-Run Funeral Service Across Torbay, Teignbridge & South Hams


Here at Stockman & Loram, we have a wide range of green burial options for you to choose from in Torbay, Teignbridge and South Hams. We offer a bespoke plan, combining a traditional church burial with an environmentally-friendly coffin. This, alongside our knowledge of the local area, means we know where the most tranquil and beautiful spots for woodland burials can be found.


Our highly experienced and professional funeral directors in Torbay, are able to offer you all the advice and support you require and allow you to choose a send-off to make your loved one proud. Providing a variety of eco-friendly coffins and woodland burial options, these can be suitably combined with any type of funeral, either religious or non-religious, for all your personal requirements.


Whether you’re interested in eco-friendly coffins or woodland burials, get in touch with our family-run funeral service today.

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