Goolwa is set to house South Australia’s first restoration natural burial ground , with burials expected to start as early as December this year. The natural burial site is five hectares of land located on Kessell Road.

Natural Burial Ground Trust of Australia Founder Kevin Hartley says the project is moving along swiftly.

“Our aim is to help restore the environment through natural burial grounds,” Kevin told the Fleurieu Sun. Kevin has more than 30 years of experience in the funeral industry and says many people are swaying towards being buried naturally.

“The idea of a natural burial has been around for a while, but this is the first site in South Australia to have only natural burials”. “The critical thing for us is get the masterplan done and start to facilitate burials”.

People are already interested, with many wanting to make a difference to the environment, even after they have passed. “Every burial contributes in a significant way to environmental restoration, even a crematorium burns fuel and it’s energy intensive,” Kevin said. “This way, you’ve got a site where your great-grandchildren will know you’re buried and you’ll be doing your bit for the environment”.

Natural Burial Ground Trust of Australia and Nature Foundation have committed joint seed funding to commence the development process with the aim of being able to accept requests for burials by December 2025. Concurrently, they have developed a campaign to raise additional funding to complete the site development over the next 12 months – initial goal of $146,000.

A groundworks and supporter gathering was held at the site on the corner of Kessell and Houlden roads on September 13, inviting the community to see the site, meet the project leaders, and become part of the pioneering project.

For more information, visit wattlewood.org.au

PDF – HERE