Greensprings Natural Cemetery Association, INC
Rules & Regulations
P.O. Box 415 / 293 Irish Hill Road
Newfield, NY 14867 / 607 564 7577
September 2023
These rules and regulations are intended to enable a common understanding of operations at Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve. Contact Greensprings staff with questions (info@naturalburial.org, 607-564-7577).
Definitions:
• “Greensprings” refers to Greensprings Natural Cemetery Association, Inc., its Board of Trustees, staff, and designated volunteers.
• “Burial sites” are currently either 15’ x 15’ for a standard burial (the burial of a full body) or 7.5’ x 7.5’ for a cremains burial (the burial of cremated remains).
• “Burial rights” allow for interment on a burial site.
• A “Greensprings deed” is a signed instrument subject to current and future rules, regulations, bylaws, and ordinances of the cemetery and local and state government entities delineating the assignee’s right to be buried at Greensprings.
• “Purchaser” refers to the person who provides payment for burial rights on a site and is so named on the deed.
• “Site owner” refers to the person named in the deed as assigned to be buried in a particular site. • A “grave opening” is the area within a burial site that is opened for the burial.
• A “burial mound” refers to the mounded earth above the grave opening after the deceased is buried and the gravesite is closed.
• “Visitors” refers to anyone (including site owners, heirs, and assignees) who visits Greensprings as a burial attendee or simply to walk around and enjoy the property.
1. Greensprings staff (or volunteers designated by staff) are authorized to ensure adherence by others to Greensprings rules and regulations while on Greensprings property and to make final decisions about such matters as unloading, pallbearing, processing, and filling the grave opening. Their authority supersedes that of the funeral home staff and any others.
2. Burial rights at Greensprings are sold in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of New York. Burials are conducted as permitted under New York State law. Burial rights must be purchased for each individual who intends to be interred at Greensprings in either a standard or cremains burial site.
3. The purchase of burial rights is for the sole purpose of burying human remains or cremains. However, cremains of pets may be buried at a site with human remains, as further described in #11 and #12.
4. Anyone may visit Greensprings during daylight hours. Permission from Greensprings staff is required for visits at other times. All Greensprings rules must be followed during visits, including that pets must be kept on a leash and under the visitor’s control.
5. Greensprings schedule of costs for fees and services is posted on the Greensprings website (https://www.naturalburial.org/fees). Fees may be adjusted without notice.
6. To schedule a burial at Greensprings, the deceased must have a deeded burial site, either one that was purchased in advance or one purchased after their death. A responsible party must provide Greensprings with:
a. full name of the deceased
b. age of the deceased including birth date, if known
c. date of death
d. if the deceased is a minor, the name(s) of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s)
7. The party responsible for making burial arrangements and for deciding about the gravestone and plantings is determined by the priority order set by New York State’s Department of State, Division of Cemeteries, as follows: (i) person named in a Will, (ii) spouse or domestic partner, (iii) a child 18-years or older, (iv) either parent, (v) sibling 18-years or older, (vi) legal guardian, etc. For a complete list see https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/06/burialarrangements.pdf.
8. Under most circumstances, the full purchase price for a burial site must be paid before a deed will be given or burial allowed on a site. If full purchase price has not been received prior to the scheduled burial, Greensprings requires a good-faith assurance from the funeral home handling the burial that funds are available to pay for the burial site and the interment fee before Greensprings will schedule or proceed with a grave opening.
9. If a scheduled burial is cancelled after Greensprings has opened the grave, the funeral home must pay Greensprings the Burial Service Fee.
10.Certain sections of Greensprings are designated for the exclusive use of members of specific religious and secular groups. These groups may have regulations for burials in their section in addition to Greensprings’s rules and regulations described herein. Before Greensprings will sell a site or undertake a burial in one of these sections, the sale or burial must be approved by a responsible party representing the organization. Organizations interested in establishing a section of Greensprings for their membership are encouraged to contact Greensprings’ manager (info@naturalburial.org).
11. In the area called S'deh Shalom, which is consecrated for exclusive use in accordance with Conservative Jewish law, all site-owners must be Jewish and only full body burials are permitted. S’deh Shalom is a Hebrew phrase meaning ‘field of peace.’
12. Only one full body burial is permitted in a standard burial site. Cremains may be buried in the same grave opening as the body if burials are done at the same time. In addition, in most areas of Greensprings, up to four grave openings are permitted for burying cremains, either human or pet. Typically the cremains burials are at the four corners of the 15’ x 15’ site between the full body grave and the edges of the site.
13. Pet cremains may be buried in a site containing or expected to contain human remains as long as all site owners/responsible parties consent, there is sufficient space on the site, Greensprings’ cremains burial service fee has been paid, and Greensprings’ Pet Cremains Interment Form has been completed (available on request).
14. Per NYS law, the scattering of cremains (human or pet) is permitted only in designated areas of the Greensprings nature preserve; it is not permitted in any Greensprings burial areas. Scattering of cremains must be pre-arranged and requires (i) payment of Greensprings’ Cremains Scattering Fee and (ii) providing Greensprings with the Cremation Certificate. A Greensprings staff member must be present for the scattering.
15. Burial rights may be transferred from one person to another. Greensprings staff must be informed about any such transfer whether burial rights were inherited, sold or gifted. If an individual with a deed to a Greensprings site dies and is buried elsewhere, site ownership passes to the beneficiary(ies) named in the individual’s Will. If no one is named, site ownership passes to descendants and then to a surviving spouse (per NYS Department of State, Division of Cemeteries “Transferring a Final Resting Place,” https://dos.ny.gov/cemetery-disclosures-and-information (scroll down on this webpage to “transferringrestingplace.pdf”) ).
16. If a site owner decides to sell their site, NYS law requires them to give Greensprings the right of first refusal. Greensprings will typically offer to buy back a site at half of the price paid. Site holders may instead donate the site to Greensprings as a tax-deductible gift-in-kind for the full amount of the price paid for the site or they may sell or donate to another individual or entity at a mutually agreed upon price. Sites may not be sold through a broker or sold to a funeral director.
17. Greensprings is open for burial seven days a week unless severe weather conditions preclude burial on a given day. Greensprings will not conduct burials on certain holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) unless the funeral home or other responsible party has made special arrangements with Greensprings at least two full days before the holiday.
18. Greensprings burials are typically scheduled to begin between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to allow sufficient time to prepare and close the grave. Burials held outside this time frame must be requested and are approved on a case-to-case basis.
19. Because Greensprings staff must be present for the duration of the burial, Greensprings must be notified in advance if members of the burial party intend to close the grave themselves using hand shovels.
20. Greensprings reserves the right to refuse to bury remains brought to Greensprings more than seven days after death
21. Discharging of firearms is prohibited except at military funerals.
22. If a burial needs to take place when access or ground conditions are unfavorable, such as when deep snow is on the ground, it may not be possible to dig the grave in the site deeded to the deceased. In such cases, and in consultation with the responsible party(ies), the chosen site will be exchanged for another where conditions for burial are more favorable.
23. Bodies or cremains may be interred only in natural biodegradable materials such as sustainably harvested wood, wicker, cardboard, or a natural fabric shroud. Nails or synthetic glues should not be used to construct caskets. Metal, concrete, plastic, other synthetic materials, and treated stone may not be used for interment at Greensprings. Medical devices like pacemakers and chemo shunts must be removed. However, out of respect for the body of the deceased, medical devices such as replacement knees and hips are not required to be removed.
24. Concrete or steel vaults and grave liners are not permitted at Greensprings.
25. Embalmed remains (including remains chemically preserved by other means) may not be interred at Greensprings except under special circumstances that must be approved by Greensprings burial staff. Special circumstances include legal requirements of the state of origin, embalming done before Greensprings requirements were known, and cremains from a body that was embalmed prior to cremation.
26. Greensprings Board of Trustees has sole discretion regarding landscaping, including approving a landscape plan, creating and maintaining roads and paths, determining a mowing schedule, and overseeing planting and removal of vegetation.
27. Landscaping, care of sites, mowing, and all other work at Greensprings is to be done only by Greensprings employees and authorized volunteers. The only exception is that the party responsible for the site (see #7) and their agents may plant and care for approved plants on the burial mounds of both standard gravesites and cremains sites.
28. Woody plants (native trees and shrubs) may be planted in the sequential burial area following consultation with Greensprings staff and their formal approval. Woody plants may not be planted on gravesites in other burial areas. Information about plants suitable for memorial plantings is in Greensprings’ Commemorative Planting Guide (https://www.naturalburial.org/commemorative-planting).
29. Herbaceous (non-woody) plants designated as native by Greensprings’ Ecological Advisory Committee may be planted on gravesites in all burial areas. Information about plants suitable for memorial plantings is in Greensprings’ Commemorative Planting Guide (https://www.naturalburial.org/commemorative-planting).
30. Mowing is to be done only by Greensprings employees and authorized volunteers. The mowing crew make every effort to mow one-third of the open meadows and all of the burial areas, including over settled gravesites, on an annual basis.
31. Natural, flat field stones indigenous to the Finger Lakes area may be engraved and placed flush with the ground on burial sites. These gravestones must be at least two inches thick and no larger than 400 square inches. To ensure consistency and long-term viability, only Greensprings personnel are authorized to install gravestones. A one-time fee is charged for this service. Before engraving a stone that was not provided by Greensprings, a Greensprings burial coordinator should be contacted to determine if the stone is acceptable. No cut, painted or polished stones, markers, or monuments are permitted.
32. Other than the gravestone, no other embellishment, effigy, inscription, or monument may be placed on a gravesite. Other stones should not be placed on or around the burial mound because they can damage the mower blade. Ceramic or glass vases, other flower receptacles, flags, artificial flowers, or other decorations may not be placed on graves or sites. Greensprings reserves the right to remove any such item.
33. Unauthorized plantings, fences, or enclosures are not permitted on or around sites (except when agreed upon to conform to religious practice). Greensprings reserves the right to remove or alter unauthorized plantings or enclosures.
34. Greensprings staff, authorized volunteers and contractors may enter or cross over burial sites to perform normal cemetery operations including annual mowing and gravesite maintenance.
35. Only authorized motorized vehicles may be used in Greensprings other than in driveways and parking areas.
36. Disinterments are allowed only by court order. They must be conducted on regular business days between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and must follow all the provisions of Section 1510(e) of New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
37. Greensprings Natural Cemetery Association and its trustees, officers, employees, and agents assume no liability for damage, mental anguish, or loss caused by vandalism or other acts beyond its reasonable control.
38. These rules and regulations may be amended at any time by Greensprings Board of Trustees. Once it is approved by the New York State Cemetery Board, the amended version will supplant previous versions.