As an aspiring Funeral Director and an active shadowee at a Funeral Home I have a passion for the funeral industry, and furthermore educating and making aware the thousands of options we have for our own burials.
A good bit of you have probably heard about ‘Eternal Reefs’ an organization that incorporates cremated remains into concrete and creates ‘reef balls’ these structures are then sunk in the ocean and left to give coral and fish a place to live.
These structures are designed to replicate natural reef substrata, a specialized concrete formula brings the concrete pH to a close neutral, the material is friendly to the marine environment, it’s textured to aid in the hosting of marine organisms and the reef balls are designed to withstand tidal flows, major storms and the dynamic energy impacts that accompany them.
Whenever one of these reef balls is created the family is welcome to participate in the mixing and pouring of the ashes. You can also write letters, press handprints and set objects into the concrete for your loved one. The GPS coordinates are also given to the family, so they’re able to visit the reef.
There have been more than 5,000 projects in more than 70 countries with more than 750,000 reef balls placed on the ocean floor. And with years of documented history of stability and habitat development, reef balls have become the international gold standard for fisheries programs, coral restoration, and habitat development projects. Here is the site if you’re interested in learning more about them and what they do:
Here are some photographs of the reef balls and the thriving reefs they’ve became home to!
A good bit of you have probably heard about ‘Eternal Reefs’ an organization that incorporates cremated remains into concrete and creates ‘reef balls’ these structures are then sunk in the ocean and left to give coral and fish a place to live.
These structures are designed to replicate natural reef substrata, a specialized concrete formula brings the concrete pH to a close neutral, the material is friendly to the marine environment, it’s textured to aid in the hosting of marine organisms and the reef balls are designed to withstand tidal flows, major storms and the dynamic energy impacts that accompany them.
Whenever one of these reef balls is created the family is welcome to participate in the mixing and pouring of the ashes. You can also write letters, press handprints and set objects into the concrete for your loved one. The GPS coordinates are also given to the family, so they’re able to visit the reef.
There have been more than 5,000 projects in more than 70 countries with more than 750,000 reef balls placed on the ocean floor. And with years of documented history of stability and habitat development, reef balls have become the international gold standard for fisheries programs, coral restoration, and habitat development projects. Here is the site if you’re interested in learning more about them and what they do:
Eternal Reefs » Living legacies that memorialize our loved ones
Eternal Reefs combines a cremation urn, ash scattering, & green burial at sea into an environmental memorial while creating new marine habitats for sea life
www.eternalreefs.com
Here are some photographs of the reef balls and the thriving reefs they’ve became home to!