Catching up on 2021 with Delliefure Cairngorms Natural Burial Ground

Starting with a sparkle

2021 at Delliefure Cairngorms Natural Burial Ground ended as it had started with snow covering the ground. This brought a magical sparkle to the woodland and grassland.

What’s been going on in 2021

Our custodian Duncan had joined us near the end of 2020. He had a ‘baptism of fire’ as he started his role when covid restrictions were in place. These continued into 2021. However, he was more than up to the challenge that we encountered with covid and took to the role of Custodian ‘like a fish to water’. A quote that is quite appropriate since the River Spey that runs alongside the natural burial ground is known for its spring salmon.

Duncan has helped families to arrange personal and special funerals amidst restrictions. This included arranging a gazebo for a family picnic when a wake was not possible. He has been bringing fantastic ideas to Delliefure and new green projects which you can read about below. He has also been filling us in on some of the history of the area. As one of the board of directors at the Grantown Museum and Heritage Trust), he is the perfect person to talk to about local history.

While natural burial may be the way to go for a sustainable future, they are places that embrace remembering the past too. This includes those that are resting with us. We were hoping to get our new memorial panel up at the end of the year. Unfortunately, the weather and a series of events decided this was not going to happen. When it does we will put an update on our Facebook and Instagram.

Welcoming visitors and Pets

Later in the year, it was great that we could lift restrictions and welcome back visitors. Sarah the marketing coordinator for Leedam was finally able to come and see Delliefure in person. She said how beautiful the natural burial ground was and loved seeing all the wonderful mushrooms that inhabit the woodland. Following our visit, she also visited Naturally Useful our local willow and wool coffin maker. After spending a day weaving a basket with her mum who had joined her she said it gave her a real appreciation of the making of sustainable willow coffins and that it was a wonderful experience. It’s great we have someone who can offer this nearby.

We have some exciting news for our pet lovers too. In 2021 we gained permission to include pets ashes as part of a natural burial or interment of ashes. This means those who want to include pets ashes can. We hope it brings some comfort to those planning or arranging a funeral or natural burial who want to be with their pets.

Our Green Projects

We also have some really exciting green projects that we started in 2021. Following a very welcome visit from the Cairngorms National Park (CNPA), we are looking into how we can help with the regeneration of native aspen trees. Our woodland already provides a wonderful habitat for native wildlife but this will be a great way to secure their future. We will also be looking at the regeneration of birch which is one of our native species.

We are delighted to be able to support CNPA with its aspen regeneration project- Leedam

Wildflower Meadow

Another green project we are actively working towards is the creation of a wildflower meadow in the area west of the car park. It is not an easy task but it is something we are trialling with the help of the local community and their restored classic tractors and machinery. In an ideal world, we would like to convert the whole meadow into a wildflower meadow. However, we have to find a practical and sustainable way to do this that works with our native wildlife. Even a small patch of wildflower meadow is a great opportunity to support our native wildflowers and pollinators. You should be able to see signs of this getting underway from March 2022 onwards.

You can read more about our green projects here and we will be adding updates to our Facebook and Instagram.

Heading into 2022 we are looking forward to seeing the flourish of wildlife and wildflowers that spring brings. We will be continuing to spread the word about green funerals and natural burial too as many people still are not aware this is an option. We want to make sure those who want to have a personal, eco-friendly and sustainable burial or interment of ashes know that it is a choice.