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Dear Prairie Creek,
How are you? Are you spending this winter energized and creating or more introspective and ruminating? However you take this season’s opportunity to simply pause, we want to thank you for taking a moment to peruse this newsletter and all the happenings here at our beautiful cemetery.
The still and sparse meadow has taken on a new kind of beauty, providing an open vastness, reminding us to look beyond; and the woods with leafless trees show us the beauty in letting go. In this way, winter has been a great teacher, encouraging us to confront death and embrace the cycle of life. As we prepare for warmer days ahead, we look forward to seeing you in the cemetery and enjoying the new growth of spring.
Sincerely,
The Staff at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery
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As PCCC begins its fourteenth year, I find myself reflecting on the deep generosity we have witnessed from our community over the last few months. Your engagement with our 2023 fall fund drive has been nothing less than remarkable. The community's continued support since the inception of PCCC has been the backbone of our organization’s success. With us every step of the way, you have helped us restore and enhance PCCC's land. With your help, we are making a lasting legacy: a burial ground created for all who wish to unite with the Earth.
I invite you to visit while the sun shines upon our open grasslands and woods as they begin to bud. One can find so much beauty in the cemetery this time of year, be it the lichen quietly breaking ground or the bald eagles circling above the tall canopies in search of shelter, piercing the air with their peals.
I thank you deeply for having us as part of your community and for making this meaningful burial option exist for all. Here's to another year of conserving land and reuniting people with the earth.
Sincerely,
Carlos Gonzalez
Executive Director
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Join Us & Celebrate Our Volunteers! | |
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Saturday, March 9, 2024
11:00am - 2:00pm Party & Potluck
Prairie Creek Lodge
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The heart and soul of our community, our volunteers, are the lifeblood of all we do to ensure PCCC is a perpetual memorial for all who are buried here. Words alone cannot adequately express the depth of our appreciation. Again, this year, we are inviting everyone to join us in celebrating our volunteers. All are invited and welcome. PCCC will provide some food and refreshments. We invite all attendees to bring a favorite dish to share with our digging, burial, and planting teams. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Bring a folding chair or blanket if you wish. | |
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It takes a generous heart and a bit of grit to volunteer with PCCC, as exemplified by volunteer Dave Kireta. Dave was a Naval Flight Officer (1981-1988), served in the US Coast Guard (1988-2001), and completed grad school to become a Physician Assistant (PA), and worked as an Endocrinology PA in Gainesville from 2007 to 2019.
For the past two years, Dave has volunteered at PCCC to support "a more personal and natural relationship between the living and the dead, and to limit our earthly impact by minimizing the energy, materials and toxic chemicals used in burials."
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Dave used PCCC's burial grounds for recreation for years, which spurred his interest in volunteering, and now he volunteers to give back to the earth and assist those who have chosen a green burial as their final wish. He says, "It's also a great way to share the moment with like-minded folks, a meaningful time of bonding between volunteers. I find that those who have attended a green burial at PCCC often discover that the natural process provides an unanticipated sense of comfort and closure."
Dave, we thank you for being a part of our cemetery community and helping bring this sense of comfort to so many families in such a difficult time.
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We often talk about our two ecosystems here at the cemetery, the woods and the meadow, but perhaps our most dynamic and bio-diverse ecosystem is that of our soil. Did you know only about 1% of soil’s organisms have been identified? Just one cup of soil may contain 200 billion bacteria, 20 million protozoa, 100,000 meters fungi, 100,000 nematodes and 50,000 arthropods.
In addition to our conservation efforts above ground, natural burial is key to preventing toxic embalming fluid or heavy metals from leaching underground. Our procedures for grave digging and filling ensure we maintain the soil strata, replacing the soil in the order it was removed. When we dig, we keep the topsoil separate to protect the unique and important qualities of humus that allow the ground cover to re-establish.
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FEATURE SPECIES | Sceloporus undulatas, the Eastern Fence Lizard, is found throughout the cemetery. As arboreal species, they’re mostly found on or near trees (or sometimes sunning themselves on a grave marker). We do our best to leave any fallen snags as habitat for these cute little creatures. A group of lizards is called a lounge, and although they are quite sedentary, you won’t often see these in a group due to their solitary nature. If you happen to see one with bright blue or black around its throat or belly, that's a male. | | |
WHAT'S IN BLOOM? This bright white perennial flower may be the closest we Floridians get to snow, and it’s a welcome winter sight popping up from the dried leaves. Innocence, Sand Stars, or Roundleaf Bluet (officially named Houstonia procumbens) is a low-growing ground cover found on the floors of many Florida ecosystems, including pine flatwoods, sandhills, scrub, and ruderal areas. Often 4-petaled, this one seems to have grown a lucky extra. Make a wish! | |
Walking the burial grounds, you might notice bouquets of stems left on graves - the mischievious work of our resident deer. They will often come through the cemetery at dawn and dusk to eat the blossoms off, but we’ve recently noticed that camellias have been untouched. Interestingly, we’ve found that perhaps our deer aren’t fond of the caffeine content in camellias, the bitter taste or caffeine rush they give, or maybe they find them just too pretty to eat. What’s your take? | |
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Monday, March 11, 2024
10:00am - 12:00pm
Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery
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Join us as we come together again to experience Shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of Forest Bathing. Forest Bathing is the practice of walking while in a meditative mode among trees. Forest bathing has many documented physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Anyone is welcome to participate in this free demonstration of this ancient practice. This event will be led by Diane Clark, a practitioner for many years. She offers inspiration for the experience and will help participants to share their reactions after guiding them through the forest. Space is limited, so please learn more and pre-register at the link below! | |
Fall Fund Drive Numbers Are In! | |
We want to thank all our donors for making the recent Fall Fund Drive a massive success. We well surpassed our $30k goal, raising a final grand total of $38,387! These donations make all we do here at PCCC possible, and we are so grateful to our generous donors for making conservation burial a meaningful and accessible option. Thank you! | |
Board Retreat | Looking Ahead | |
Last month on January 20th, the Board of Directors and staff of CBI/PCCC gathered for a Board Retreat at the Prairie Creek Lodge. It was a full, productive day of connecting in person and contributing to the development of the organization's future goals. With help from our brilliantly talented moderator, we have developed a task list that will keep us busy throughout the next few years. We’re excited to share our updates as things progress! | |
Did you know we share exclusive newsletters and early event announcements for our Sustainers? PCCC Sustainers help our not-for-profit organization maintain a meaningful and affordable disposition choice that lessens impact on the environment. Consider pledging an annual or monthly contribution below! | | |
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PCCC is a publicly accessible green space. You can find copies of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery and Prairie Creek Preserve brochures in the kiosk as you enter the cemetery. We encourage you, your family, and your friends to come make Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery part of your visits to the natural world. | | Check out our new brochures! You can download a copy below, or be sure to pick one up at our kiosk next week. If you represent a funeral home, we would be happy to send you some to have on hand. If you would like us to mail a packet, please email us your name and mailing address. | |
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"The mission of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery is to provide a natural burial choice that conserves land and reunites people with the earth."
Want to learn more about natural burial? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions Page, or if you would like to speak to someone, please email us or call our office phone (352-336-5910) and we would be happy to help. You can also request to book a private tour with us or click below to RSVP to our next group tour!
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The mission of Conservation Burial Inc. (CBI) is to promote natural burial practices in cemeteries that conserve land and reunite people with the environment. CBI oversees Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery in agreement with Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT). CBI is a community not-for-profit cemetery organization as defined by Section 501(c)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code. CBI subscribes to the Standards and Practices of the Green Burial Council, available at greenburialcouncil.org. CBI does not provide tax advice, and no goods or services were provided in return for this contribution. Donor’s name may appear in CBI’s annual report, Form 990 to the IRS, copies of which are available at www.GuideStar.org. CBI does not share our contact information, except to land conservation and historic preservation efforts in Alachua County that are affiliated with ACT. Conservation Burial Inc.’s Charitable Solicitation Number is CH38574. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free (800) 435-7352 within the State, or visiting the website www.800helpfla.com. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State. | | | | |
