Green “Natural” Burial: Life Has Changed, Not Ended!

Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery & Prayer Gardens offers certified green burial on twenty acres overlooking the San Gabriel River Valley in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. We are one of only two cemeteries in the State of Texas certified for green burial by the Green Burial Council, and we welcome families of every faith.

What Is Green Burial?

Green burial — also called natural burial — returns the body to the earth as simply and directly as possible. There is no embalming, no concrete or metal vault, and no manufactured casket designed to seal a body away from the ground that receives it. A biodegradable casket or a simple shroud is all that stands between a person and the soil.

It is, in truth, the oldest form of burial there is. What we now call “traditional” burial is barely a century old.

Why Families Choose It

Our loving God created an awesome world that reflects His love and splendor — a world that feeds us, nurtures us, and shelters us. At death, though, we have been conditioned in our modern society to pull back from what is natural, to keep from joining the beautiful, life-giving cycles of death and rebirth.

The current trend of conventional burial says that we should be handled by strangers, filled with poisonous chemicals, sealed away in a mass-produced casket, and then placed in yet another container to seal us away from nature. Good stewardship of the earth and of our financial resources should compel us to be informed about the options before us.

Cremation, while an economical choice, is not as environmentally positive as one might think. The incineration process uses considerable energy and emits toxins that must be dealt with even when they are not released into the air. It also destroys many of the nutrients the body carries, so that they are never returned to the earth.

Green natural burial is simple, affordable, and natural. It reunites the body with the earth and allows the cycle of creation to be completed as God meant it to be.

Green burial also opens the door to greater family and community involvement. Families often carry their loved one to the grave themselves, place the shroud or lower the casket by hand, and fill the grave together. For many, that participation becomes part of how they grieve and heal.

Certified Green Burial in Texas

Certification by the Green Burial Council means our practices are independently verified — no embalming chemicals, no vaults, biodegradable containers only, and grounds managed without the chemical inputs a conventional lawn cemetery depends on. Very few cemeteries in Texas meet that standard.

Our Lady of the Rosary is a hybrid cemetery, which means green burial sections rest alongside traditional burial and cremation options on the same consecrated grounds. A family need not choose between a natural burial and being laid to rest near relatives who chose differently.

What to Expect at Our Lady of the Rosary

For the burial itself, families may use a biodegradable casket of untreated wood, wicker, or cardboard, or a natural-fiber shroud. Embalming is not permitted, and no vault or grave liner is used.

Pricing for green burial spaces is listed on our Pricing page. Green burial is often less costly than conventional burial, since there is no vault, no embalming, and no elaborate casket.

Serving Central Texas

We work directly with families and with funeral homes throughout Central Texas — Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Hutto, Taylor, and the surrounding communities. The cemetery sits at 431 Berry Lane in Georgetown, roughly half an hour north of downtown Austin.

In the springtime, bluebonnets and wildflowers grow among the graves. There is a spring-fed pond, a small waterfall, prayer paths and nature trails, and a prayer grotto. Families are welcome to walk the grounds any day from dawn to dusk, whether or not they have a loved one buried here.

Planning a Green Burial

Whether you are planning ahead or facing an immediate need, we would be honored to walk the grounds with you and answer your questions. There is no obligation, and no one will rush you.

Call us at 512.863.8411, or request an appointment and a member of our staff will be in touch. You may also wish to read about preplanning or review our pricing.