Burial at Bluestem
BLUESTEM CONSERVATION CEMETERY is a nonprofit conservation cemetery opening in Summer 2022. A distinct sense of place that highlights the unique Piedmont landscape, Bluestem is a living, healing, natural sanctuary that sustains the restoration and protection of native wildlife habitat through the practice of natural burial, Owned and operated by Bluestem Community NC, people from any walk of life and experience are invited to consider their final resting place at Bluestem. Burial sales at Bluestem support the economic viability of the landscape, cemetery operations, and future community and conservation initiatives in the region.
THE LAND
Bluestem is located on 87 acres in Orange County, 12 minutes north of Hillsborough, in Cedar Grove. For the last 20 years, the land was in agricultural use, well cultivated and cared for by the former landowner. The fields and woodlands surrounding Bluestem are owned by longstanding Orange County farming families. Bluestem recognizes the region’s rich agricultural and cultural history and is honored to exist alongside rolling landscapes dotted with livestock and productive farmland. These compatible attributes fit with Bluestem’s goals of a conservation cemetery that preserves a region’s character. And Cedar Grove’s quiet country roads and scenic vistas, makes the location a compelling destination for visitors throughout the Triangle and Triad regions.
WHY A CONSERVATION CEMETERY
Bluestem allows for the conservation of this special place for the purpose of creating a cemetery for green burial within a nature preserve. Conservation values on the land such as native flora, fauna, wetland features, grasslands, and woodlands are protected while supporting reflective recreation and a cemetery for green burial. Green burial at Bluestem invites community participation in the ritual of death, creating meaningful and lasting memories, deeper connections with the land, and a gateway to healing amid grief. Bluestem does not allow for embalming, steel or metal caskets, or vaults.
GREEN BURIAL
Bluestem is designed as a living, memorial landscape. Its 87 acres is divided into roughly 30 acres for burial and 50 acres for the protection of wildlife, natural habitat, and public access. In thoughtful stewardship of the entire site Bluestem will open burial areas according to a phased timeline. Three distinct burial areas will be available upon the cemetery’s opening: two areas reserved in recreated grasslands and one in natural woodlands.
BURIAL AT BLUESTEM CEMETERY
Burial at Bluestem is open to all – to people of any faith, people without religious traditions, and people with unique cultural traditions. The cemetery supports at-need and pre-need burial options. At-need burial arrangements are made at the time of death, most often by a surviving family member or trusted friend, on behalf of the deceased. Pre-need (also referred to as preplanning for burial) is arranged by the living. As part of its mission, Bluestem supports individuals wishing to finalize their pre-need burial plans.
BURIAL OPTIONS
Burial options will be available in three reserved areas: two in open fields and one in a portion of the woodlands. The open fields will be restored Piedmont prairie, filled with Bluestem grasses and wildflowers, with pathways that run east to west and north to south. The woodland area will be within the hardwood forest, shaded by Black Walnut trees, and covered in wild blueberry, Christmas fern and springtime ephemerals. Bluestem’s trail network will run throughout the property, crisscrossing the grasslands burial areas and dipping into the woodlands where trails will run alongside the creeks. Certain areas of Bluestem, within the creek buffers, around the pond, and other places of restoration, are not available for burial. These areas are reserved as places for reflection.
MEMORIALIZATION
In keeping with Bluestem’s guiding principles, memorialization is simple, natural, and respectful. Every grave will be marked with a round disc recorded by GPS coordinates. Individuals choosing to be buried at Bluestem can additionally select a gravestone from Bluestem’s on-site options or choose to “leave no trace”. Gravestones are modest, native stone, and lie flat to the ground. Returning family and friends can locate their loved one’s gravesite or, as importantly, they can experience the fullness of the entire nature preserve in honor of their loved one’s memory. Offsite stone or polished granite headstones are not allowed. Memorial plantings on gravesites will be encouraged, and families will be able to make selections from a defined list of native plants and trees, in keeping with the cemetery’s land restoration and stewardship plans.
PRICING
Burial at Bluestem supports the permanent protection and restoration of the land, and its cemetery operations.Investing in a burial plot at Bluestem is an expression of personal values attuned to environmental sustainability and the healing properties in nature. Pricing at Bluestem is currently under review with Bluestem’s Council of Stewards. We will announce Bluestem’s Pricing Structure later this Spring.
RESERVATIONS
When visitors to Bluestem Cemetery are interested in securing a burial site, they complete a contract that reserves their place. The contract captures individual contact information, contact information for next-of-kin, and the individual’s burial site preference.
VISITING BLUESTEM CEMETERY
Visitors to Bluestem are invited to experience the place, in as many ways as there are in honoring and celebrating the land—walking the trails, silent meditation, yoga or painting beside the pond, reflecting alongside pathways, picnicking under the trees, volunteering for stewardship opportunities, holding poetry readings—Bluestem is a place for all. Visitors are encouraged to experience all seasons at Bluestem. Cemetery tours are arranged for visitors wishing to learn more about burial at Bluestem.
PUBLIC ACCESS
Bluestem is currently closed to the public while we restore the fields, build trails and ready the cemetery for operations. We do not have any job openings at this time. We are, however, recruiting volunteers.
ACCESSABILITY
Bluestem’s hiking network follows the contours of the land. Hikers and walkers will be encouraged to plan for natural pathways of varying accessibility. We will schedule meetings for visitors needing additional mobility support with a golf cart. Can you donate towards the purchase of one? Natural footpaths are surrounded by native grasses, wildflowers, and ferns, covered in emerging ephemerals in the spring and colorful leaves in the fall. Cleared pathways throughout the cemetery provide visitors with the experience of being intimately within a restored landscape, the only companions chirping crickets and darting bluebirds. Nearby, loved ones lie in peaceful rest.
BLUESTEM PRINCIPLES
At Bluestem, nature provides a comforting and peaceful refuge for all with reserved areas for burial, hiking trails, meditation walks, and sitting areas for quiet reflection. The cornerstones for guiding the creation of this living and lasting memorial landscape are simple, natural, and true. Where nature is enough.
NONPROFIT CEMETERY
Bluestem Conservation Cemetery is a program of Bluestem Community NC. Its mission is to nurture spiritual practice through shared fellowship, community service, and ecological stewardship. Bluestem’s Council of Stewards serves to guide its mission, providing governance and oversight, supporting land stewardship, and adhering to best practices for land and cemetery management.
OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
Bluestem is owned and operated by Bluestem Community NC, Inc., a faith-based organization (508c1a) established in January 2021 and currently awaiting its 501(c)3 status from the IRS. The Green Burial Project serves as Fiscal Sponsor for Bluestem Community NC, Inc., under a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement. EIN 813201267. Bluestem is overseen by a Council of Stewards, an advisory of professionals, and cemetery staff. All marketing, outreach, sales, and burial services for the cemetery is conducted by staff. Bluestem will be finalizing a perpetual conservation easement that will be coheld by Eno River Association and Triangle Land Conservancy. It will apply for conservation burial ground status with the Green Burial Council.
KEEP UP WITH BLUESTEM ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
Or sign up for our newsletter here.
THE LAND
Bluestem is located on 87 acres in Orange County, 12 minutes north of Hillsborough, in Cedar Grove. For the last 20 years, the land was in agricultural use, well cultivated and cared for by the former landowner. The fields and woodlands surrounding Bluestem are owned by longstanding Orange County farming families. Bluestem recognizes the region’s rich agricultural and cultural history and is honored to exist alongside rolling landscapes dotted with livestock and productive farmland. These compatible attributes fit with Bluestem’s goals of a conservation cemetery that preserves a region’s character. And Cedar Grove’s quiet country roads and scenic vistas, makes the location a compelling destination for visitors throughout the Triangle and Triad regions.
WHY A CONSERVATION CEMETERY
Bluestem allows for the conservation of this special place for the purpose of creating a cemetery for green burial within a nature preserve. Conservation values on the land such as native flora, fauna, wetland features, grasslands, and woodlands are protected while supporting reflective recreation and a cemetery for green burial. Green burial at Bluestem invites community participation in the ritual of death, creating meaningful and lasting memories, deeper connections with the land, and a gateway to healing amid grief. Bluestem does not allow for embalming, steel or metal caskets, or vaults.
GREEN BURIAL
Bluestem is designed as a living, memorial landscape. Its 87 acres is divided into roughly 30 acres for burial and 50 acres for the protection of wildlife, natural habitat, and public access. In thoughtful stewardship of the entire site Bluestem will open burial areas according to a phased timeline. Three distinct burial areas will be available upon the cemetery’s opening: two areas reserved in recreated grasslands and one in natural woodlands.
BURIAL AT BLUESTEM CEMETERY
Burial at Bluestem is open to all – to people of any faith, people without religious traditions, and people with unique cultural traditions. The cemetery supports at-need and pre-need burial options. At-need burial arrangements are made at the time of death, most often by a surviving family member or trusted friend, on behalf of the deceased. Pre-need (also referred to as preplanning for burial) is arranged by the living. As part of its mission, Bluestem supports individuals wishing to finalize their pre-need burial plans.
BURIAL OPTIONS
Burial options will be available in three reserved areas: two in open fields and one in a portion of the woodlands. The open fields will be restored Piedmont prairie, filled with Bluestem grasses and wildflowers, with pathways that run east to west and north to south. The woodland area will be within the hardwood forest, shaded by Black Walnut trees, and covered in wild blueberry, Christmas fern and springtime ephemerals. Bluestem’s trail network will run throughout the property, crisscrossing the grasslands burial areas and dipping into the woodlands where trails will run alongside the creeks. Certain areas of Bluestem, within the creek buffers, around the pond, and other places of restoration, are not available for burial. These areas are reserved as places for reflection.
MEMORIALIZATION
In keeping with Bluestem’s guiding principles, memorialization is simple, natural, and respectful. Every grave will be marked with a round disc recorded by GPS coordinates. Individuals choosing to be buried at Bluestem can additionally select a gravestone from Bluestem’s on-site options or choose to “leave no trace”. Gravestones are modest, native stone, and lie flat to the ground. Returning family and friends can locate their loved one’s gravesite or, as importantly, they can experience the fullness of the entire nature preserve in honor of their loved one’s memory. Offsite stone or polished granite headstones are not allowed. Memorial plantings on gravesites will be encouraged, and families will be able to make selections from a defined list of native plants and trees, in keeping with the cemetery’s land restoration and stewardship plans.
PRICING
Burial at Bluestem supports the permanent protection and restoration of the land, and its cemetery operations.Investing in a burial plot at Bluestem is an expression of personal values attuned to environmental sustainability and the healing properties in nature. Pricing at Bluestem is currently under review with Bluestem’s Council of Stewards. We will announce Bluestem’s Pricing Structure later this Spring.
RESERVATIONS
When visitors to Bluestem Cemetery are interested in securing a burial site, they complete a contract that reserves their place. The contract captures individual contact information, contact information for next-of-kin, and the individual’s burial site preference.
VISITING BLUESTEM CEMETERY
Visitors to Bluestem are invited to experience the place, in as many ways as there are in honoring and celebrating the land—walking the trails, silent meditation, yoga or painting beside the pond, reflecting alongside pathways, picnicking under the trees, volunteering for stewardship opportunities, holding poetry readings—Bluestem is a place for all. Visitors are encouraged to experience all seasons at Bluestem. Cemetery tours are arranged for visitors wishing to learn more about burial at Bluestem.
PUBLIC ACCESS
Bluestem is currently closed to the public while we restore the fields, build trails and ready the cemetery for operations. We do not have any job openings at this time. We are, however, recruiting volunteers.
ACCESSABILITY
Bluestem’s hiking network follows the contours of the land. Hikers and walkers will be encouraged to plan for natural pathways of varying accessibility. We will schedule meetings for visitors needing additional mobility support with a golf cart. Can you donate towards the purchase of one? Natural footpaths are surrounded by native grasses, wildflowers, and ferns, covered in emerging ephemerals in the spring and colorful leaves in the fall. Cleared pathways throughout the cemetery provide visitors with the experience of being intimately within a restored landscape, the only companions chirping crickets and darting bluebirds. Nearby, loved ones lie in peaceful rest.
BLUESTEM PRINCIPLES
At Bluestem, nature provides a comforting and peaceful refuge for all with reserved areas for burial, hiking trails, meditation walks, and sitting areas for quiet reflection. The cornerstones for guiding the creation of this living and lasting memorial landscape are simple, natural, and true. Where nature is enough.
NONPROFIT CEMETERY
Bluestem Conservation Cemetery is a program of Bluestem Community NC. Its mission is to nurture spiritual practice through shared fellowship, community service, and ecological stewardship. Bluestem’s Council of Stewards serves to guide its mission, providing governance and oversight, supporting land stewardship, and adhering to best practices for land and cemetery management.
OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
Bluestem is owned and operated by Bluestem Community NC, Inc., a faith-based organization (508c1a) established in January 2021 and currently awaiting its 501(c)3 status from the IRS. The Green Burial Project serves as Fiscal Sponsor for Bluestem Community NC, Inc., under a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement. EIN 813201267. Bluestem is overseen by a Council of Stewards, an advisory of professionals, and cemetery staff. All marketing, outreach, sales, and burial services for the cemetery is conducted by staff. Bluestem will be finalizing a perpetual conservation easement that will be coheld by Eno River Association and Triangle Land Conservancy. It will apply for conservation burial ground status with the Green Burial Council.
KEEP UP WITH BLUESTEM ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM
Or sign up for our newsletter here.
