The words above are nestled in the middle of Linda Ellis’ poem “The Dash,” which is a poignant reminder that what matters most about our lives, particularly to those who love us, is not just the day we are born or the day we die, but also the ways we spend the days represented by the mighty dash on our eventual gravestone. A simple punctuation mark offered as a placeholder for the entirety of a human life — a powerful symbol of the magnitude of small things and the beauty of the between days.

At Reflection Park, graves will be marked with small flat stones flush with the ground to align with our vision for a natural space. This sizing will accommodate a loved one’s name, dates of birth and death, and one additional line of text. We acknowledge that there will never be enough space to fully convey the entirety of a human life, and so we rely upon the quiet power of the dash to say what cannot be adequately expressed in words but can still be held in our hearts as we honor a life lived.

Thank you to those of you who have completed the interest form on our website. Several hundred of you have reached out and we are humbled by the initial interest! Please know that we’ve read each and every form entry and message sent. Although we would love to start meeting and planning with you to accommodate your end-of-life arrangements, we cannot do so until we are open and operating. We thank you for your patience as we have navigated the necessary approval steps to develop a natural burial ground in Montgomery County. We are now projecting an opening toward the end of October. This is a bit later than we had planned due to construction delays, namely a wetter-than-expected early summer that pushed back road construction for several weeks.

In the meantime, we have been developing a triage process to allow us to effectively and efficiently connect with each of you who has waited so patiently for us to open. This process will prioritize people who have expressed an immediate need.

Here’s a summary of what we are planning: We will hold a virtual information session on October 14, from 7-8 pm (see below for registration information). This session will provide more details about our processes, policies, and timeline. In October, we also plan to email a detailed information form to everyone who has reached out to us through our online interest form. This will allow us to have most of the information we need ahead of individual meetings with families, which will streamline the process of making pre-need arrangements. After opening, we plan to host several open houses with guided tours, most likely on weekend days, where visitors can tour the Park and have questions answered. The number of visitors for each tour will be capped to ensure we can accommodate everyone responsibly. We expect to have a sign-up process for this purpose. For those who cannot attend a guided tour or prefer to visit the park at their leisure, we plan to have self-guided tours available whenever Reflection Park is open.

Shortly after opening, we plan to start hosting individual meetings for families to ask further questions and, if desired, secure burial arrangements. It will likely take a few months after opening to meet individually with everyone who has expressed an interest, but rest assured that if you have completed the interest form, we will reach out to you. 

To register for the virtual information session, occurring on October 14, 7:00-8:00 pm, please click on the button below.

Note: The information session will include a Q&A portion. You are welcome to submit questions ahead of time through the registration form or during the program through our moderator. We will also record the session for those who cannot attend, and we welcome follow-up questions via email. We look forward to connecting with you soon!

While we can’t host tours and open houses quite yet, we can give you an update on construction and share a couple on-site photographs to give you a sense of what’s to come.

The image above shows one end of the spine road, which ends in a roundabout facing more than 20 acres of forest and opening to a one-mile hiking loop. The island in the center of the roundabout will be filled with native landscaping. The image below shows a member of our team meeting in the center of the roundabout with our civil engineer and landscape architects discussing the plantings and future burial areas.

The shoulders of the spine road have been prepared with a permeable paver system, made from 100% recycled material, that allows grass to grow while still supporting cars parking on the edge of the road. The preparation of new burial areas nears completion, and several stormwater ponds are being established and await planting of native drought-tolerant vegetation.

So what’s left to do?

Early next week, landscapers will begin reseeding the land with both turf grass and a natural native meadow mix, which includes milkweed that supports a variety of wildlife including monarch butterflies. After that, landscapers will plant native hardwood and evergreen trees and shrubs — just in time for the fall planting season.

In addition to new landscaping, we are creating an inviting entryway to Reflection Park. The entrance will include a decleration lane to make it easier to pull off the main road, and an entry gate made from stone, steel, and wood. We sought local vendors to provide the natural and durable materials for the gate. The piers, which will anchor both an automated vehicle entrance and a pedestrian entrance, will be made from Western Maryland flagstone quarried at Patapsco Natural Stone Quarry.

We’re certified!

…make light(er) work! Yes, teamwork makes the dream work. The Reflection Park dream, which inches closer to reality each day, is made possible by all of you who have expressed an interest in the Park and, for some of you, sharing your talents with us.

We are blessed that several people have dropped into our orbit and are currently working with us to get us to opening day and beyond. We look forward to sharing more about them in future newsletters and introducing them at an upcoming event. 

Do you have talents to share? Please let us know here!

A recent New York Times article on green burial

Summary: The article explores the growing trend of green or natural burials in America, where the number of cemeteries offering these services has increased from just one in 1998 to 497 today.

A recent Washington Post article on water cremation, aka alkaline hydrolosis or aquamation (Note: Reflection Park will not offer alternatives to natural burial, but we recognize the interest in them. For more information about our approach, please see our FAQs where we address this question.)

Reflection Park is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. We are grateful for every dollar contributed in support of our mission to create a sacred place that celebrates the cycle of life, death, and renewal. More information can be found on our donation page.

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