Baldwin Hill Cemetery Website is now up and running: www.baldwinhillcemetery.org

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Baldwin Hill Cemetery to Begin Operations

May 2021

The Board of Directors of the Baldwin Hill Cemetery Corporation has recently announced that the 10-acre Baldwin Hill Cemetery will begin operations and the sale of interment rights in July. The cemetery, managed by a five-member board, will provide ecologically sound burials for people of all faiths. A new quarter-mile, universally accessible trail weaves through the cemetery pine stand, offering a chance for reflection and a lovely view of the Fayette hills. The burial ground is adjacent to Kennebec Land Trust’s (KLT) 80-acre Baldwin Hill Conservation Area. (See maps, directions, and parking information below and on the website.)

KLT staff, as contractors, will take care of the burial ground and coordinate plot sales. Funeral homes, with their expertise in grief support and transportation of the deceased, will provide burial services. Once the cemetery is open in July, grave-digging and interment will be carried out year-round by Brandon Ellis of BHS in Gardiner. Graves will be approximately three feet deep, since the majority of the microbial activity in soils takes place within the upper soil horizons and in the organic duff layer. The 0.3-mile gravel cemetery access road will be plowed in the winter. Native unpolished stones can be engraved to mark grave sites. Each grave site will be plotted with a high accuracy GPS device, and each location will be accessible on the cemetery’s website. Stones cannot exceed 300 square inches in area and must lie flat or be partially buried so that they don’t extend more than three inches above the surface of the soil.

As of June 1, 2021, the Corporation will have two tiers of pricing. Interment rights for KLT members and Fayette residents (year-round and seasonal) will be $1,000 per lot. The fee for all others will be $1,200. KLT members and Fayette residents will also be able to purchase interment rights for two weeks before they go on sale to the general public ( June 1-15).

Thirty percent or more of all income from plot sales will be designated to a Perpetual Care Fund.

 Important details:

· Purchasers of interment rights should communicate in advance with family members and a funeral home and inform the funeral directors  of their plans to be interred at the cemetery.

· Baldwin Hill will not accept embalmed remains for burial and will not permit the use of outer burial containers or burial vaults. Only biodegradable materials may be used for burial containers, including shrouds made of natural fibers and caskets made of local wood, wicker, or other plant materials.

· To minimize disturbance to existing graves, the presale of interment rights will not be accompanied by specific plot assignments. At the time of death, an authorized person can choose a site from a selection of available plots.

· The Baldwin Hill Corporation encourages natural, full-body burials, but because people’s needs and circumstances are highly varied, the burial of cremains will be allowed at the cemetery. (Cremation is becoming increasingly popular, and it offers several advantages over modern conventional burial. However, its carbon footprint may still exceed that of natural burial.)

For those considering home funerals or self-directed funeral services, an authorized person must coordinate all end-of-life details that would otherwise be handled by a funeral home, including the completion of all paperwork required by law and the coordination of the interment with the burial contractor. All paperwork that would normally be completed by the funeral home must be completed by the authorized person.

 Trails:

A quarter-mile, universally accessible trail weaves through the tall white pines of the burial ground, offering a chance for reflection and a lovely view. The fall foliage is stunning in late September and October. Parking is at the bottom of the gated access road, where a 0.3-mile hike up the scenic gravel road will take visitors to the trail, the burial ground, and the viewpoint. Visitors with family at the burial ground or with mobility impairments can call KLT   to gain access through the gate.

Directions:

From Route 17 in Fayette, turn west onto Fayette Corner Road. In one mile, turn right onto a gravel road with a small pull-off parking lot and a gate marked by a KLT sign. Hikers start here – an easy    0.3-mile hike brings you to the cemetery. For those unable to walk the 0.3 miles, contact KLT for information about our ADA-compliant parking     space and turnaround at the cemetery.

Our website is now live – www.baldwinhillcemetery.org – and contains information about fees and our conservation burial partners. Please contact the KLT office with additional questions.

Note: As a 501c(13) organization, Baldwin Hill is exempt from federal income tax. Donors cannot deduct payments made for the purchase of interment rights or for perpetual care of a specifc site. However, contributions of funds that are dedicated to the long-term care of the cemetery are tax deductible. If you are considering a gift to Baldwin Hill today or in your estate, the following language can be used:  I give to Baldwin Hill Conservation Cemetery, a nonprofit cemetery located in Fayette, Maine, with Tax ID # 84-4936563, the sum of $__________ to be used for the perpetual care of the Baldwin Hill Cemetery as a whole.

October 1, 2020

After four years of planning and research, Kennebec Land Trust’s (KLT) 10-acre Baldwin Hill Conservation Burial Ground was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Maine in February 2020. The corporation, managed by a five member Board of Directors, has submitted an application to the IRS for 501(c) (13) status.

The Baldwin Hill Conservation Area and Burial Ground is situated in a stand of tall white pines, with an open understory, surrounded by rock walls. A 0.25-mile universally accessible trail weaves through the pine stand and offers a chance for reflection and a lovely view. The fall foliage is stunning in late September and October. Visitors who linger at the benches overlooking rolling hills will likely observe many species of birds and butterflies in an area that will be managed for pollinator and early successional habitat

KLT’s cemetery will provide ecologically sound burials for people of all faiths. On the operations end, the KLT office will manage the burial ground and coordinate plot sales, and we are partnering with funeral homes that have established expertise with grief support, memorial services, and transportation of the deceased and burials. KLT stewardship staff Jean-Luc Theriault and Tyler Keniston will serve as sextons. The Burial Ground Board of Directors will apply for certification as a conservation cemetery according to the standards and best practices defined by the Green Burial Council. 

Once the burial ground is open in July 2021, grave-digging and interment will be carried out year round by Brandon Ellis of BHS in Gardiner. Graves will be approximately three feet deep, since the majority of the microbial activity in soils takes place within the upper soil horizons and in the organic duff layer. The 0.3 mile gravel cemetery access road will be plowed in the winter. 

Native unpolished stones can be engraved to mark grave sites, and each plot will have a GPS point on a survey. Stones cannot exceed 500 square inches in area and must lay flat or be partially buried and not extend more than three inches above the surface of the soil.  

As KLT pursued this vision, we learned from experts in Maine, including Maine State Soil Scientist Dave Rocque, Joyce Foley of Cedar Brook, Joan Howard of Rainbow’s End, Lynn Roberts Reed of Knowlton-Hewins-Roberts, Chuck Lakin of the Maine Funeral Consumers Alliance, and our conservation colleagues across the country, including Jeff Masten of LANDMATTERS and Candace Currie of the Green Burial Council. Our planning process also fostered new partnerships across community, business, government, and conservation organizations, which has created a strong foundation for the project. 

As we developed this initiative, we always came back to one key finding: conservation burial is traditional burial, a practice that has been followed for thousands of years. The use of chemical embalming fluids and energy-intensive cement vaults is relatively new, and our society is still coming to terms with the environmental impacts of these modern burial practices. KLT is proud that we will be providing an ecologically sound model for burial in a meaningful way at the end of life. We picture Baldwin Hill as a place where people will celebrate life and the beauty of the natural world.   

Please contact the KLT office if you have questions. We will be updating our website with information about fees and our conservation burial partners. 207-377-2848 or info@tklt.org

January 2020

After three years of planning and research (2016-2019), KLT is currently in the process of designing a ten-acre conservation burial ground on the northeastern portion of our 90-acre Baldwin Hill Conservation Area in Fayette. This new KLT property will include our ten-acre conservation burial ground, a universal access trail with scenic views, and hiking trails through fields and woodlands.

The ten-acre Baldwin Hill Conservation Burial Ground will soon be incorporated as a 501(c)(13) non-profit, and will:

·        provide for ecologically sound burial for people of all faiths

·        minimize resource consumption and the use of toxic materials, and

·        conserve valuable wildlife habitat and protect water quality.  

Conservation Burial Grounds can be certified by the Green Burial Council. Visit their website to learn more about national standards.

Conservation burial has the potential to bring many benefits to KLT and the community at large, including meeting local interest in having a scenic and natural place of burial, conserving land for recreation and wildlife habitat, and encouraging the creation of other natural burial sites.

Next steps: On the operations end, KLT will manage the burial ground and coordinate plot sales, and we are partnering with local funeral homes that have established expertise with grief support, memorial services, transportation for the deceased, and sexton burial services.

Plots and Memorials: Once the cemetery is open (this year or next), grave-digging and interment will be carried out by a contractor. Graves will be approximately three feet deep, since the majority of the microbial activity in soils takes place within the upper soil horizons and in the organic duff layer. Native stones can be engraved to mark grave sites, and each plot will have a GPS point on a survey. 

When we picture this KLT property, we know it will be a place where people will celebrate life and the beauty of the natural world, something we think we all hope for at the end of our lives.  

Please contact the KLT office for additional information. 207-377-2848 info@tklt.org. We will be updating our website with information about fees and our conservation burial partners.

A brief KLT Conservation Burial Timeline:

Spring 2019: With generous support from KLT members Paul Kuehnert and Judith Graber and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, KLT purchased 90 acres for the future Baldwin Hill Conservation Area and Conservation Burial Ground.

June 25-August 19, 2018: Jack Daley, KLT summer intern, focuses his summer research on KLT’s conservation burial project. Develops educational brochure for KLT members.

January, 2018 Dave Rocque authors: Guidelines for the Selection and Development of Green Cemeteries in Maine, which includes information site selection guidelines for a conservation burial ground.

June-August 2016: KLT intern Josh Caldwell researches the emerging trend of green burial in Maine and completes his research paper.

Spring 2007: Land Trust Alliance publishes “Final Stop for Land Trusts in Saving Land”, which focused on Ramsey Creek Preserve in South Carolina, a conservation burial site with an easement held by Upstate Forever. This was KLT’s introduction to the concept of conservation burial.