IN WHAT would be a first in North America, a Winnipegger wants to turn an agricultural field into a forest where people can mix the ashes of a loved one with the roots of a tree they have purchased.
Memorial Woodland of Manitoba would have space to sell as many as 294 individual trees to be planted in the 18-acre field near Tyndall, in the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead. Ashes of the deceased would be used in plantings.
It would create a park-like forest where family members could visit to honour and remember their loved one.
SUPPLIED
A rendering shows a bird’s eye perspective of the proposed Memorial Woodland.
“I have no children, but I do have nieces and nephews. I don’t really expect them to come visit a cemetery,” said Romana Hur, who has signed up to get a tree. “If I become a tree, maybe they will come for a walk someday to point at a tree and say, ‘That’s Auntie Ro.’”
“To me, it’s like a whole circle of life thing.”
Taras Luchak, chairman of the federally approved charity, is looking for the first 100 people to join him there for eternity so the project can become a reality.
“Hopefully, my grandkids will come to see ‘grandpa the tree,’” said Luchak.
“This will be a mix between a city park and a wild forest. We want the look of a forest, but we want people to see it and use it as a park.”
Quinn Hunter, a licensed funeral director who owns Hunter Funerals and is a member of Memorial Woodland’s board, said she thinks it’s an option many people will appreciate.
“I get asked many times, ‘How can I become a tree?’ when I present about green burials and end-of-life options,” said Hunter.
“I always support having more options available. To have a tree, the only way you can do it now is on your land because, right now, there is no place like this to do this.”
Kevin Sweryd, president of Bardal Funeral Home and Crematorium as well as the Manitoba Funeral Service Association, said he likes the idea.
“A lot of people eschew the traditional cemetery these days. This answers a need a lot of people have. You could scatter the ashes at the lake, but what happens when the property changes hands? Do you have access to it?
“If you have something which can become a memorial forest, you have a place to go to.”
SUPPLIED RENDERING
The 18-acre agricultural field, near the outskirts of Tyndall, would become a park where people can mix the ashes of a loved one with the roots of a tree they purchase.
The charity has a 99-year lease from the RM of Brokenhead, which will be automatically renewed as long as the site’s usage remains the same.
Luchak said the site will have a pathway, two large ponds and picnic tables.
“We looked for a site that was on the way to a destination,” he said.
“We looked at sites on the way to Gimli and to Grand Beach, and we found this on the way to the Whiteshell (Provincial Park). This way people can pull over and have a picnic when they visit a loved one.”
Luchak said because the Trans-Canada Trail is nearby, they hope to make the park part of the trail.
Currently, the charity is asking people to put down a $1,000 deposit for a tree.
Luchak said if they don’t get the 100 people needed by their self-imposed deadline of May 1, 2025, the deposit will be returned.
The cost of a tree, its planting, and contribution to the perpetual maintenance fund is $3,700, while an optional memorial marker costs $450.
If the tree is planted while the person is alive, with the ashes added later, it would cost an additional $300.
Luchak said the prices are in line with what cemeteries charge for ashes in columbaria, but Memorial Woodland is a greener option.
The city’s Brookside Cemetery charges $4,400 to $4,800 for a niche, while the St. Vital and Transcona cemeteries charge at least $4,500.
SUPPLIED RENDERING
Memorial Woodland of Manitoba would have space to sell as many as 294 individual trees.
Luchak said he was surprised when officials from multiple cemeteries told him he wouldn’t be allowed to have a tree planted with his ashes there.
Luchak said while the limit is 294 trees, the ashes of more than one person, and even a family pet, can be mixed in with a single tree.
“I’ve done the numbers on this,” said Luchak. “Each tree has a different umbrella and needs a different separation. We can have 294 trees on the site.
“It will take a few years to look like a forest. It takes a lot of vision to see what it will look like, but it will be a forest.”
Luchak said he has already picked a tree: “I wanted to have a maple leaf.”
As for Hur, she is leaning toward a linden tree, but if she can’t have that, a birch would be a nice option. She said her younger sister, who also plans to have her ashes scattered there, has decided on a bur oak.
“I think I might plant it (in advance) so I can at least tell people, ‘There’s my tree.’ They’ll know where I am.”
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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