BLUESTEM CONSERVATION CEMETERY
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    • A Place for Everyone
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 The Bluestem Story 

In 2015, Jeff Masten and Heidi Hannapel crafted a vision for Bluestem and set about researching and planning for central North Carolina's first conservation cemetery. They visited over 40 natural and conservation cemeteries around the country and helped found the Conservation Burial Alliance, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of conservation land that incorporates natural burial cemeteries.  

 In 2018, they were joined by 
Allen Brimer, Ben Johnston-Krase and Brandon Wert, of Farm Church, a service oriented congregation that meets on a farm in Durham, NC. These colleagues introduced the vision for Bluestem to faith leaders and community members in the region, and continued to evolve their concept with listening sessions among groups that specialized in community care, hospice and death care, 
funeral consumer interest, green burial advocacy, land conservation and law. 

With the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020, Bluestem's listening sessions and outreach efforts moved online. ​Death, loss and grief surrounded us throughout 2020 and into 2021. We discovered through our Bluestem Conversations online that people were eager to share their experiences with family members' end of life choice. Most everyone we listened to wanted "something different" for their own disposition; a burial option that was more personal, meaningful, and less impactful on the earth. 

We believe that land and nature are sacred. We turn to it for respite and refuge. As  conservationists committed to protecting the natural beauty and resources of our beloved Piedmont, we pursued a vision for establishing Bluestem as a place of worship, a nature preserve and central North Carolina's first conservation cemetery. 

Bluestem continues to be shaped by the people it draws into it  -- passionate individuals seeking restorative spaces in nature that honor the earth and -- 
  • Support family and friends in the sacred act of green burial 
  • Celebrate a special Piedmont landscape 
  • Remember loved ones through the protection of land​
  • Restore native grasslands and wildlife habitat
  • Serve as a living memorial for rest and refuge 
  • Revere the sacred in nature 

In February 2021, the nonprofit Bluestem Community NC was formed with a Council of Stewards that oversees the management and operations of Bluestem. The eight individuals currently serving on the Council bring experience and skills in community building, spiritual journeying, land conservation, nonprofit governance, public administration, caregiving, management, and law. Bluestem Community is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 

In January 2022, Bluestem Community acquired 87 acres of open land and Piedmont forest in Cedar Grove, North Carolina, through the generous support of private donations. The open fields were well cared for and planted in corn by the former landowner. Neighboring properties, both in agriculture and timber, are owned by longstanding Orange County farming families.

Bluestem opened to the public as a place of reverence in a nature preserve on November 20, 2022. With the support of its many volunteers, it offers 3 miles of hiking trails, monthly tours, spaces for quiet contemplation and a conservation burial program in its cemetery. We invite you to Explore Bluestem.
 
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 our goals for designing a place of reverence in nature that preserves a region’s rural character, ensures healthy wildlife corridors, protects important stream corridors, and ultimately provides our community with an enduring place of rest and regeneration.
THE STATE OF BLUESTEM 2024
CHECK BACK SOON FOR OUR BLUESTEM TIMELINE

Bluestem Community Council of Stewards 
2023-2025

    

Allen Brimer    Kathleen Davidson  
Jennifer Evans   Heidi Hannapel  
Al Lauritano    Jeff Masten   
Shenae McPherson   
Seletha Pherribo   
Andre Richmond   Cris Rivera    
Franziska Rokoske   ​Beth Tillman 

Learn more about Bluestem's Council of Stewards


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Bluestem Conservation Cemetery is a program of Bluestem Community NC, a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. 
EIN 86-2188559. All donations are tax deductible.

Bluestem

Home
A Place for Everyone
A Conservation Cemetery 
​Burial at Bluestem
Information Sessions
Walking Tours
​Make an Appointment
​
Newsletter
FAQs

Partners & Collaborators

Bluestem Community NC
​Conservation Burial Alliance

DEEP Collaborative  
Eno River Association 
Garrett Wildflower Seed Farm 
Green Burial Council
Orange County Department on Aging 
Triangle Land Conservancy

Contact Us

​[email protected]
(919) 300-4925
1900 Hurdle Mills Road 
Cedar Grove, NC 27231
Open daily from dawn to dusk
Virtual Info Sessions offered monthly 
​Walking Tours offered twice monthly
Reservations by appointment only 
Burial Services scheduled weekdays
DONATE
  • ABOUT
    • The Land
    • A Place for Everyone
    • Bienvenidos!
    • Who We Are >
      • Bluestem Staff
      • Council of Stewards
    • The Bluestem Story
    • Bluestem In The News
  • Cemetery
    • How It Works
    • Make an Appointment >
      • Immediate Need
      • Planning for the Future
    • Natural Burial Costs
    • Information Sessions
    • For Families >
      • Burial Areas
      • Planning a Service
      • Service Providers
      • Grave Markers and Stones
    • Cemetery Rules and Guidelines
    • FAQs
  • Conservation
    • Prescribed Fire
  • Community
    • Why Bluestem
    • Bluestem Meditations
    • We Remember Them
    • Volunteering
    • Newsletter
    • Events
  • Visit
    • Map
    • Informational Tours
    • Explore On Your Own
    • Community Spaces
    • Views of Bluestem
  • Donate
    • Bluestem Community Fund
    • Wing of the Barn
    • Make A Gift
  • Contact Us
    • Bienvenidos!