Environmental Burials
A Poetic Return to Nature
Choose Remembrance Grove as your loved one's final resting place, and take part in improving the city's forest cover, helping to improve air quality and biodiversity.
Planting Biodegradable Urns Under Young Trees
Located in a prime area overlooking Saint Joseph's Oratory and near the main entrance, Remembrance Grove is a space dedicated to the burial of biodegradable containers under young trees, so that the ashes of the deceased can be returned fully and quickly to nature. Relatives can therefore gather in front of this growing tree, chosen from a selection of native species adapted to the environment of the area. It is a poetic way to help improve the city's tree cover, thereby contributing to better air quality and biodiversity.
The tree selection will be made from these species: sugar maple, red maple, bitternut hickory, shagbark hickory, ironwood, serviceberry, hornbeam, chokecherry and western hackberry. All of these trees have a lifespan of 100 to 200 years and at maturity will range in size from 23 to over 80 feet tall.
A Commemorative Monument
A commemorative monument at the entrance to the Grove will bear the names of all those buried there, as well as a number to identify their tree. Each plot can accommodate only one container, and therefore only one tree. Each tree is guaranteed in case of illness and will be replaced free of charge. We also take care of protecting each tree against winter conditions.
Interments in Remembrance Grove are seasonal (May to October - exact dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions). We offer the possibility of keeping the ashes on site free of charge while awaiting burial in the spring or summer.
How is a Burial in Remembrance Grove Conducted?
Upon your arrival, the ashes will have already been placed in the biodegradable container, where they will have been mixed with potting soil and the roots of the selected young tree. The procession will then move from the administrative pavilion to Remembrance Grove, where you may, upon request, be accompanied by a member of our pastoral team. A musical component is also available for those who wish, by reservation and for an additional fee. A member of the family will then be invited to place the tree in the previously dug site, if they so wish, as a symbolic gesture. Our employees will be on hand to assist the family member if needed. Then, a first shovelful of earth will be placed at the base of the tree before the ceremony is concluded.
In the following weeks, your loved one's name will be engraved on the monument placed at the entrance of Remembrance Grove (engraving fees are included in the purchase of the plot).
What Makes Remembrance Grove an Eco-Friendly Site?
- Trees are the lungs of the planet. By replacing the traditional funerary monument (tombstone) with a tree planted in Remembrance Grove, you are helping to improve the tree cover of the city of Montréal, and therefore, the quality of the air.
- Only fully biodegradable containers are interred in Remembrance Grove, allowing for a complete and rapid return to the earth.
- Only native tree species that are adapted to the environment of Mount Royal can be planted in order to promote biodiversity and their own growth.
- Our crematorium meets the highest environmental standards and is located more than 500 meters from any residential area.
Pricing
Plot, tree and engraving
$ 2,995 plus tax
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Discover Our Green Plan
Our Green Initiatives
The Green Plan is the cemetery's ambitious project to take ecological action to help protect the environment and biodiversity of Mount Royal, a natural site incredibly rich in species of flora and fauna. Our green initiatives also aim to encourage everyone who visits the cemetery to take ecological action; no matter how small, it can have a major impact on the environment in the long term.
Ecology & Biodiversity
Located in the heart of the historic and natural site of Mount Royal, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is certified as a haven for biodiversity. It has always developed and managed its activities with respect for the environment.
A Natural Choice
Immerse yourself in a verdant setting of great biodiversity by listening to these natural sounds captured at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery.
Eco-Friendly Options
Bury your loved one in one of our eco-friendly groves which involves the burial of biodegradable urns under saplings guaranteed to grow into beautiful trees. The deceased's ashes are thus returned to nature, and generations to come can gather around the growing tree, chosen from a selection of native species adapted to the area's environment.