Growing Bluestem 2023   

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People frequently ask how they can get involved or support Bluestem. We recognize that not everyone has the flexibility to volunteer onsite, so we'd like to share some other ways to help Grow Bluestem. We have several fundraising campaigns this year that will enable us to reach more people and educate them about the benefits of spending time in a nature preserve with a conservation cemetery. We welcome gifts of all sizes. 

Bluestem is an entirely community supported project made possible through countless volunteer hours, donations from committed individuals, and some local foundations. We are proud of its grassroots origins, and we have so much more to build!   

Consider whether you and a group of friends can make a donation in honor of someone buried at Bluestem. Invite your church or community group to care for some of Bluestem's wilderness. We welcome your ideas.
​All gifts are tax deductible and support the care of the land and Bluestem Community -- individuals at rest, their families and friends, our partners and volunteers. Thank you! 

Donate here

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Growing Bluestem Goals

Conservation Corps NC: 100 foot water quality buffers alongside Bluestem's two creeks

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Imagine an information kiosk at our front gate here!

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Land Steward volunteers gathering on a winter morning

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 CONSERVATION CORPS
NORTH CAROLINA
Supporting green jobs training! 

Beginning in October, Bluestem will be a training site for crews of apprentice trail-builders, eager to clear invasives, carve out terrain for trails, attend to stormwater run-off, and cross creeks with some newly constructed bridges! Hosting these future environmental leaders means we can provide green jobs training, teach about conservation burial, and inspire a next generation of land stewards. Your donation helps us cover training and hosting costs. 

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ONSITE SIGNAGE
With translation into Spanish! 

Bluestem is open every day, dawn to dusk, for visitors to walk, reflect, pray, meditate, and remember loved ones. We’re making plans to improve trail maps, build out our information center, and offer green burial information translated into Spanish. We’re also hoping to create a webcam for weather monitoring and habitat viewing. You would be helping to share the news of a more affordable option for burial, for everyone.  

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INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES
Bringing water to Bluestem!

The summer heat has reminded us just how precious water can be. Big news! Soon Bluestem will have its own supply with our very own well. Once up and running, it will provide water for all our visitors, our hardworking volunteer corps, even the cyclists biking down Hurdle Mills Road. Your donation will help cover the costs of well installation, plus the electrical work needed to keep it functioning and adding new fans to the barn. We'll raise a toast to you with every drink of water! 

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DONATE HERE

Meet Eartha the Excavator   

In Fall 2022, a dedicated Bluestem supporter inspired a fundraising challenge for the purchase of an excavator, one of our most important pieces of equipment. In two short months, donors gave to the Gratitude Challenge, making the start of 2023 very exciting. Working with "Eartha" will give us the flexibility to enhance Bluestem's water protection measures and forest restoration, reveal more pathways and trails, and most important of all, efficiently dig the natural graves in the cemetery. 

Thank you to everyone who helped bring Eartha to Bluestem! 

Walter the dog sharing the limelight with Eartha

Bluestem Wish List   

BURIAL EQUIPMENT 
Hand cart for transporting loved ones to gravesite (contact us for a photographic sample) 
Casket carriers
Ropes, boards, hand tools                        
Storage containers (x2)
Office systems 

VEHICLES
​6 seater golf cart
​Kubota maintenance vehicle 

​SITE IMPROVEMENTS
Landscaping 
Fencing and gates
A Bluestem Weather Station  

TRAIL CONSTRUCTION & SIGNAGE
Design, mapping and equipment
Translation into Spanish
​Small covered shelters 
An open air barn for the interior of the cemetery
​Locally sourced cedar for benches, signs and information kiosks

FIELDS
Controlled burns
Native grass seed and wildflowers 
Perennial bulbs, shrubs and trees
Existing plants inventory 
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HAND & POWER TOOLS
Wheel barrows (x2)                          
Hand tools, saws, rakes, pruning shears, shovels

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Other Ways To Help Build Bluestem 

Sharing Bluestem with your friends, family, colleagues, and communities that you're a part of, is a great way to support green burial in our region.

• Volunteer with us on Fridays
• Follow Bluestem on Facebook and Instagram
• Organize a Walking Tour 
• Organize a Zoom Presentation 
• Organize a House Party (contact us for details) 

As always, we are inspired by your many messages and the new relationships that are growing within this important community space in Cedar Grove, open every day. 

"Green burial directly acknowledges that we die and our bodies decay... my body nourishing the earth and its creatures just makes sense. It's also a form of justice, as that same earth and those same creatures have nourished me, in one way or another, all my life." - Jerry