Amidst the fears and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we wish to assure you that natural/green burial remains a safe and viable option, and the staff of Kokosing Nature Preserve are continuing to provide burial services during this time.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations to date are that, "...decedents with COVID-19 may be buried or cremated according to the family's preference," and "There is currently no known risk associated with being in the same room at a funeral or visitation service with the body of someone who died of COVID-19." More information about green burial and COVID-19 is available from the Green Burial Council and the Conservation Burial Alliance.
For the health and safety of our staff, our customers and our community, we have made the following adjustments to our current procedures effective immediately. These procedures will be reviewed and altered as necessary and as situations and mandates change.
- We are not currently offering in-person appointments and/or tours of the preserve for customers who are pre-planning or who are seeking general information about green burial and Kokosing Nature Preserve. Telephone or video appointments are available upon request and can be scheduled by emailing info@kokosingnaturepreserve.com or by calling 740-427-5040.
- Pre-need sales of interment rights are temporarily postponed.
- The reception center at Kokosing Nature Preserve is closed during this time. The facility is not available for use before or after burial services, nor is it available for rental for any gatherings. This means that there are no available restroom facilities on-site during burial services.
- The trails at Kokosing Nature Preserve remain available to the public during daylight hours. We encourage the local community to come out to the preserve, walk the trails, and enjoy the peace and beauty of the space. However, we ask that you do so while maintaining responsible social distancing (6-foot spacing) from others who may also be walking the paths.
With regard to burial services:
- As an essential business choosing to remain "open" at this time, we must abide by the State of Ohio’s Stay at Home order and comply with social distancing requirements as defined in the order. Six-foot social distancing for both employees and members of the public must be maintained at all times, and six-foot spacing will be designated and enforced during burial services.
- The number of attendees at burial services is currently limited to ten (10) people or fewer, not including Kokosing Nature Preserve staff/volunteer and/or funeral home representatives. Anyone exhibiting symptoms is not permitted to attend a burial service.
- Friends and family members are not permitted to participate in lowering the casket/shroud into the grave during this time. Lowering of caskets/shrouds is currently being handled by Kokosing Nature Preserve staff/volunteers, assisted only by representatives of the funeral home.
- If desired, friends and family members are permitted to place dirt in the grave after the burial container has been lowered. However, if they wish to place more than a few handfuls of dirt, families and friends must provide their own shovels.
- Hand sanitizer will be readily available during burial services.
- If interment rights have not been purchased in advance, and are required to be purchased at the time of death, the staff of Kokosing Nature Preserve will select a burial lot for the family, with guidance from the family regarding the general area of the preserve that they would prefer. All paperwork and related transactions for the purchase of at-need interment rights will be handled remotely/electronically to the extent possible.