In North America, interest in green burial practices has grown significantly over the last decade. There are many ecological products and services to help us honor our loved ones. One example of a sustainable, nature-connected practice is the memorial reef.
Memorial reefs are an alternative deathcare practice that gets to the core of what it means to be remembered as part of a living ecosystem. Memorial reefs reflect the current shift in ecological deathcare away from conventional ceremonies and cremation rituals. However, memorial reefs may also bring up complicated questions around access and ritual. Are we reframing personal memorialization as environmental activism?
Resting in the Reef: Memorials Reefs and the Ethics of Ocean-Based Deathcare
What Are Memorial Reefs?
Memorial reefs are man-made reef balls that contain human ashes. The engineered balls are made from a marine-friendly and pH-neutral concrete mix in a mold. The rough texture of the reef ball encourages coral polyps to attach and allows it to slowly become part of the habitat. According to Eternal Reefs, there are now more than 750,000 reef balls in the ocean across the globe. Reef burials range from $3,000 to $9,000, depending on the company and reef ball.
Deathcare traditions and the ocean have a deep history. In places like the Pacific, native Hawaiians continue to follow traditional deathcare rituals that include scattering ashes into the ocean while chanting.
The Cultural and Symbolic Moment Behind Ocean-Based Deathcare
Neptune memorial reef off of Key Biscayne, Florida. Image via Wikicommons
The trend of ocean-based deathcare reflects the world’s cultural shift towards ecological deathcare. Growing awareness of the environmental risks posed by embalming chemicals leaching into the soil has prompted people to seek more eco-friendly ways to honor their loved ones.
For many, memorial reefs are a powerful reminder that the dead belong to the larger eco-system, while also discouraging broader consumerism common to the funeral experience. Janet Hock, a former dentistry professor, chose this burial method because she loved the idea of having a second life on the seabed. She told The Guardian, “You’re providing structure for fish to swim through and a place for plants to grow.”
In traditional Western culture, deathcare practices symbolize permanence through gravestones and other markers in a permanent plot. It is designed to last indefinitely, whereas coral is a living and fragile organism that relies on a symbiotic relationship with humans to survive.
Environmental Benefits?
Memorial reef balls
Traditional burials have a surprising and significant impact on the environment. One study reveals that a single burial can generate 833 kg of CO2, the equivalent of driving a car over 2,400 miles. Now, times that by the number of burials globally.
Memorial reefs may offer several environmental benefits. For example, by providing shelter for marine life and restoring seabeds. A pilot project by British startup, Resting Reefs, “attracted 84 fish species and achieved fish diversity 14 times greater than nearby degraded areas.”
Recent research published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) revealed that shallow-water reef habitats determine how quickly the planet rebounds from major disturbances in carbon dioxide levels, such as ocean warming. Memorial reefs may have an important role to play in the near future.
There’s also another surprising benefit: memorial reefs can help shield the area from man-made destruction. Murray Roberts, professor of marine biology at Edinburgh University’s School of Geosciences, thinks reef memorials are a good idea. “Corals and all sorts of animals grow better on structure,” he says. “I can’t see an obvious downside.”
“When you have artificial reefs that contain human remains, imagine the consternation there would be if that area was trawled up,” he added.
But despite the ecological and restorative potential of memorial reefs, their success depends on the materials used, their location, and long-term stewardship. The impact of the carbon footprint of cremation and the creation and deployment of artificial reefs also can’t be ignored.
Ethics and Access
There are also cultural considerations to account for. Many indigenous and coastal communities have a longstanding tie to the ocean and have developed their cultures based on interactions with coastal and marine ecosystems. Introducing the memorial structures without considering and engaging with historical risks opens the door to colonial patterns of ownership. Memorial sites must be developed in consultation with local Indigenous communities.
Questions of access arise in discussions of burial beneath the ocean as well. While memorial reefs do have some protection from human damage, what about damage from storms, or if the reef degrades and needs to be relocated? In communities with strong ancestral beliefs, relocating a burial is often viewed as spiritual dispossession or breaking the link between the living and the dead.
Grief, Ritual, and a Vulnerable Legacy
Neptune memorial reef off of Key Biscayne, Florida. Image via Wikicommons
For families, memorial reefs can reshape the traditional experience of mourning. For example, there’s no physical place to visit. Remembrance now takes the form of GPS coordinates and annual dives. For some, this can strengthen the power of story and memory. But for others, the absence of a tangible site for grief can be hard. While memorial reefs may change the way legacy is imagined, the absence of a physical permanent marker is a reflection of the contemporary world we live in, where deathcare now exists in digital spaces.
While coral memorials are a planet-friendly alternative, warming waters and growing pollution put the future of coral reefs under pressure. To choose a reef burial means to choose a legacy that does not last forever in the physical world, but lives on through memory and storytelling.
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