The Forest Conservation Burial Ground of Southern Oregon

11/20/2025

Helpful tips for us to support each other as we navigate the inevitability of grief in our lives. Take a look and consider these ideas. Thank you, Southern Oregon Living and Dying Alliance for posting!

11/12/2025

This week brought a moment of quiet grief on the land. A magnificent Ponderosa Pine that had stood at the edge of the meadow for more than 200 years had to be felled.

Years of hotter temperatures and less rainfall weakened its vitality and left it vulnerable to the Western Pine Beetle, a native insect now thriving in a warming climate. Once a tree’s natural defenses are lowered, beetles burrow beneath the bark and interrupt the flow of water and nutrients until the tree’s life quietly ends.

It is painful to witness loss in beings that have weathered centuries of storms, deep snows, and human change. Yet in The Forest, we are reminded that endings are part of the living world. Death nourishes new life, and every transformation carries the story forward.

The wood from this pine will be milled and used here, allowing its strength and spirit to live on as part of the place it helped sustain.

🌿 Grief is part of love, and everything that returns feeds what comes next.

11/03/2025

Today we honor Iggy, our cemetery manager’s beloved cat, now resting in the Pet Cemetery at The Forest.

This land holds many beings who were cherished in life and held with tenderness in death. Companion animals, ranch animals, and creatures who shared this mountain have been laid to rest here across the years, each held with reverence and gratitude.

Here, we believe that love continues in quiet ways. It settles into soil and settles into memory. It becomes part of the living forest.

May all beings be remembered with gentleness.
May grief be a sacred act.
May love return to the earth and rise again in the trees.

🐾💚
Learn more about natural pet burial and this place of remembrance at theforestconservationburialground.org

11/01/2025

A hush in the trees.
Mist in the branches.
A season for remembering.

Halloween blessings from The Forest.

10/24/2025

🌿 Connecting Through Care: Heart of the Valley End of Life Community Resource Fair 🌿

We at The Forest Conservation Burial Ground are honored to take part in the Heart of the Valley End of Life Community Resource Fair at the Corvallis Community Center. This gathering brings together those who are reimagining how we approach death, dying, and grief with care for one another and for the Earth.

Suzanne Willow, one of our founders and a lifelong steward of land and community, and Mary Ann Perry, our Sexton and Cemetery Manager, will share their experience in a presentation on Eco-Friendly Death Care. They will speak about natural burial and family-led funeral practices that honor both the individual and the landscape, inviting us to consider how end-of-life choices can reflect love, connection, and respect for the natural world.

FREE Event
🗓 Saturday, November 1, 2025
🕛 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Corvallis Community Center, 2601 NW Tyler Ave, Corvallis, OR

Events like this help strengthen the growing community of people and organizations who see death care as an extension of how we live in relationship with the land and each other. We are grateful to share in this meaningful exchange and to continue building connections grounded in compassion, sustainability, and remembrance.

Join us to navigate the complex world of end-of-life. Meet with and learn from area organizations and experts who support end-of-life needs.

10/21/2025

Roots Remember

In this forest, nothing is ever truly gone.

An old stump, weathered and hollowed by time, stands beside new growth reaching for light. Both belong here. One holds memory, the other possibility. Together they tell the story of how life continues, transforming, renewing, becoming.

At The Forest Conservation Burial Ground, the land itself is teacher and witness. Each season brings change, yet every root and ring reminds us that all life is part of the same circle, connected, enduring, and alive.

🌿 Come walk the trails, listen to the forest’s quiet lessons, and see renewal in every form it takes.

Sign up for a tour or learn more at theforestconservationburialground.org

10/13/2025

Today, we honor the Indigenous peoples who have lived in relationship with this land since time immemorial. The Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples cared for these forests with deep respect and reciprocity, and their presence is still felt in the spirit of this place.

The ground we walk upon carries memory. The trees, the waters, and the soil all hold stories older than any of us can know.

As a place devoted to remembering, we pause to honor those whose ancestors first tended this land and whose descendants continue to do so. Their wisdom and reverence for the cycles of life and death remind us that all things return, and that caring for the Earth is a sacred act.

May this day be one of reflection, gratitude, and celebration of the enduring relationship between people and place.

10/06/2025

***Onsite Registration is an option if registration link is closed.***

🌿 Nature Healing: Conservation Burial and Forest Bathing 🌿

This October, discover two unique opportunities to connect more deeply with land, life, and legacy.

📅 Sundays, October 12 & 19, 2025
🕒 3:30–5:30 pm
📍 North Mountain Park Nature Center, 620 N. Mountain Ave, Ashland (Oct 12)
📍 The Forest Conservation Burial Ground, 658 Shale City Rd, Ashland (Oct 19)

✨ October 12: Join Mary Ann Perry (M.S. in Teaching, Certified Home Funeral Guide, and Sexton at The Forest Conservation Burial Ground) for a thoughtful discussion on conservation burial and how this option supports both loved ones and the land.

✨ October 19: Experience Forest Bathing at the burial ground with guides Ilene Gregorian and Shanti Einolander. Also known as Shinrin-Yoku in Japan, forest bathing is the practice of slowing down, being present, and immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the forest. Benefits include reduced stress, lower blood pressure, improved cardiovascular health, and a deeper connection with the natural world.

🧺 Bring your own picnic to enjoy after each program.
💚 Free and open to ages 18+ (registration required).

➡️ Register through Ashland Parks and Recreation: https://or-ashland.civicplus.com/371/Register-for-an-Activity

Or learn more here: https://theforestconservationburial.org/event/nature-healing-conservation-burial-forest-bathing/

10/04/2025

Come visit Willow-Witt Ranch, The Crest, and The Forest Conservation Burial Ground. Meet baby goats, enter our raffle for a chance to win a goat migration hike or farm tour, play games with The Crest, and learn more about our conservation work.

📍 Talent, Oregon | Happening now until 4!

10/01/2025

Nature Healing: Conservation Burial and Forest Bathing

In partnership with Ashland Parks and Recreation, join us for a free two-part series this October.

Sundays, October 12 and 19, 2025
3:30 to 5:30 pm
Ages 18 and up
Bring your own picnic to enjoy after each program

October 12 – North Mountain Park Nature Center, 620 N. Mountain Ave, Ashland:
A discussion of conservation burial with Mary Ann Perry, M.S. in Teaching, Certified Home Funeral Guide, and Sexton at The Forest Conservation Burial Ground. Learn how this option serves both loved ones and the land.

October 19 – The Forest Conservation Burial Ground, 658 Shale City Rd, Ashland:
An experience of Forest Bathing with guides Ilene Gregorian and Shanti Einolander.

Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku in Japan, is the practice of slowing down and immersing yourself in the forest atmosphere. It supports well-being by reducing blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health, and lowering inflammation. This is not hiking but a gentle, mindful connection with the natural world.

Free, but registration is required at https://or-ashland.civicplus.com/371/Register-for-an-Activity

This is a unique opportunity to connect with land, life, and legacy in a setting of beauty and reflection. 🌲✨

Register for a program with the Recreation division.

09/27/2025

Learn more about us today at the Medford Multicultural Fair!