Listen to Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at Sussex University, founder of the BumbleBee Conservation Trust and author of numerous best sellers such as The Garden Jungle: Or Gardening to Save the Planet reading chapter 35 of Habitat Man.

This chapter was one that had the most impact. It features a natural burial and several readers wrote to me afterwards, saying they’d been inspired to change their will after reading it.

What many don’t know is that the chemicals used in traditional burials are designed to kill every micro-organism in the surrounding earth. Also it’s a lot of good hardwood gone in the ground, when the more sustainable willow or wicker coffins are more environmentally friendly, look lovely, and are usually less expensive. Many people also plant a tree to mark the spot – not something you can do if you’ve poisoned the earth with formaldehyde.