Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public
A student film featuring Vermont Forest Cemetery, Vermont’s only cemetery devoted entirely to natural burials, is screening across the state.
The short documentary, From Earth to Earth: The Lost Art of Dying in America, was produced by students at the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 2023.
The film explores natural burial and the movement to legalize it in Vermont. Natural burial is an eco-friendly burial method that allows the body to decompose organically, without embalming or traditional caskets.
Vermont Forest Cemetery founder Michelle Hogle Acciavatti is hosting the screenings at libraries and community centers. She said the events spark meaningful conversations.
“You meet the coolest people,” she said. “And the stories — it’s part of why I want to preserve the stories at the cemetery. Because people are so cool, and they’re bringing their passion for the environment or their land or whatever it is into this process.”
Hogle Acciavatti said if you want to learn more about natural burial — especially if you’re skeptical about the process — you’re encouraged to come to a screening and learn more.
“If you have doubts about what we’re doing, come and see how it works,” she said. “We just did a burial where the woman was so afraid to tell her friends about what she wanted, because she thought they would think she was crazy. And [her friends] were skeptical — they weren’t sure what to expect. But they came because they knew it mattered to her, and they left telling us that it was beautiful.”
The next screenings are March 11, 12 and 14 in Shelburne, Richmond and Manchester.