When a family first hears the phrase “conservation burial,” it often lands with a quiet clarity: this is not only about where someone rests, but about what their resting place protects. In Georgia, Honey Creek Woodlands sits within the preserved landscape of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, and it’s designed to look and feel like the woods and meadows it truly is. Instead of rows of headstones and wide lawns, families walk trails through a nature preserve and find graves marked with simple stones. The intent is straightforward: vault-free, low-impact burial that supports long-term land stewardship. That simplicity can be deeply comforting when everything else feels complicated.
At the same time, many families arrive here after considering other options—especially funeral planning paths that include cremation urns, burial, or a blended plan. That is normal. In fact, cremation has become the majority choice in the U.S., and the decisions around what to do with ashes (and how to create a lasting place of memory) have become central to modern grief. Honey Creek Woodlands is one answer to that question, and it is worth understanding in practical terms before you commit.
Why Conservation Burial Is Resonating Right Now
Families are choosing simpler, more personal, and more environmentally conscious arrangements for many reasons—cost, values, and the desire for meaning that feels authentic. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate is projected to be 63.4% in 2025 (with burial projected at 31.6%), and projections continue to rise over the long term. That shift matters because cremation often moves the “cemetery decision” from immediate to optional—families can keep ashes, scatter them, bury them later, or divide them among relatives using small cremation urns, keepsake urns, or cremation jewelry.
At the same time, some families want a permanent place that is grounded—literally—and that aligns with stewardship. Conservation burial grounds exist to protect land as much as they serve families. The Green Burial Council describes conservation burial grounds as natural cemeteries established with conservation protections (such as a conservation easement or deed restriction) and a management plan for long-term care. Honey Creek Woodlands fits that spirit in a way that feels unusually tangible because the setting itself is the message.
Where Honey Creek Woodlands Is, and What the Landscape Feels Like
Honey Creek Woodlands is located in Conyers, Georgia, among the Monastery of the Holy Spirit’s 2,300 acres, and it sits adjacent to the Arabia Mountain heritage landscape that draws people for hiking, history, and quiet beauty. The preserve describes itself as being adjacent to the Arabia Mountain Heritage Corridor and area, which spans tens of thousands of acres of protected and connected greenspace. The Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Alliance describes the National Heritage Area as spanning 40,000 acres of the Georgia Piedmont. If you’ve never visited, that scale helps explain why the place can feel less like a cemetery and more like a refuge.
Visiting is also part of “how it works.” Honey Creek Woodlands asks visitors to remember they are entering a wilderness preserve—uneven terrain, water to bring along, and wildlife and insects to expect. Tours and burial planning are by appointment, and on a funeral day, the preserve notes that burial sites are about 1.5 miles into the woods, with vehicle access limited and a short walk typically required. They also describe policies designed to preserve the peace of the site, including limiting general public access and controlling vehicle entry. You can review the practical visit expectations directly on their Planning a Visit page.
What “Conservation Burial” Means Here
Honey Creek Woodlands calls itself a conservation burial ground and emphasizes that it is a nature preserve first. In plain terms, that means you should not expect manicured lawns, ornate monuments, or elaborate decorations. Instead, you will see trails through forests and meadows, and graves marked by simple engraved stones. The preserve explains that bodies are returned to the earth without embalming chemicals and without a concrete vault, and that burial containers must be biodegradable. Cremated remains can also be buried in biodegradable containers, but the site states clearly that the scattering of ashes is not allowed. Their overview of these principles appears on the What Is Green Burial? page.
If you are used to conventional cemetery rules, it helps to shift your frame. A conservation burial ground is not trying to look “kept” through constant landscaping; it is trying to be healthy through native plants, minimal disruption, and long-term care. The Green Burial Council describes green burial broadly as forgoing embalming and using biodegradable materials, and Honey Creek Woodlands applies that approach through concrete policies about what is permitted on the land.
The Rules That Shape the Experience (and Why They Matter)
The preserve’s FAQ is unusually specific, which is helpful because clarity reduces stress. Honey Creek Woodlands states it will not accept embalmed bodies, and it prohibits vaults of any kind. It also requires biodegradable caskets, shrouds, and urns, limits grave decorations to natural cut flowers, and prohibits statues or upright monuments. Markers, they explain, are limited to native field stones purchased through Honey Creek Woodlands. They also note that benches are no longer allowed, and they prohibit balloons and balloon releases—rules that may feel strict until you realize they are designed to protect wildlife and prevent invasive species and litter. These details appear in the “Rules and Regulations” portion of their FAQ.
One detail families often ask about is “how the body is buried” without embalming. Honey Creek Woodlands states that natural burial there uses a shallow grave of about three feet deep, with two to three feet of topsoil mounded above, where microbe-rich soil helps natural breakdown. They also note that refrigeration or dry ice can be used to allow a service several days after death rather than rushing. That practical guidance is included in their FAQ, and it’s worth reading if you are trying to coordinate logistics with a funeral home or a faith community.
Full-Body Burial vs. Cremation Burial at Honey Creek Woodlands
Families sometimes assume conservation burial means only full-body burial. Honey Creek Woodlands does offer full-body natural burial, but they also offer burial of cremated remains (again, not scattering). That matters for families who prefer cremation for personal, cultural, or financial reasons, but still want a permanent place in a protected landscape. The monastery’s own overview notes that cremated remains are accepted. You can see that on the Monastery of the Holy Spirit page describing the conservation burial ground.
If you choose cremation burial at Honey Creek Woodlands, the preserve provides details that help you plan. Their burial container page states that cremated remains are buried in biodegradable containers and notes burial dimensions for cremated remains as 10" x 10". They also reiterate that scattering is not allowed, and they note that ashes may be placed in the grave without a container. They further clarify that Honey Creek Woodlands does not provide containers and suggests working with your funeral home for green burial options. Those specifics appear on Burial Container Images.
This is where modern planning often becomes a blended conversation. A family might choose cremation, keep a portion at home using cremation urns for ashes or keepsake urns, and bury the remainder in a conservation cemetery so there is a permanent place to visit. If you are building that kind of plan, Funeral.com has a broad collection of cremation urns for ashes, plus dedicated collections for small cremation urns and keepsake urns when a shared memorial approach feels right for your family.
Costs and Planning Questions (What Families Usually Want to Know First)
Cost is rarely the only reason families choose conservation burial, but it is often part of the decision—especially when you are trying to create something meaningful without financial regret. Honey Creek Woodlands publishes pricing that gives families a concrete starting point. Their pricing page states that “natural burial is generally about half the cost of a modern burial,” and it lists natural burial plot prices by section (for example, Meadow Section and Pine Forest) along with a grave digging and site preparation charge. It also lists cremation burial prices by section and a separate site prep and digging charge for cremation burials. You can review current numbers directly on their Buying a Plot page.
It also helps to zoom out and compare across disposition types. Families often ask, how much does cremation cost in a way that includes not only the cremation itself, but the memorial choices around it. The National Funeral Directors Association publishes national median cost statistics, including a reported national median cost of $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial in 2023, compared with $6,280 for a comparable funeral with cremation. Those benchmarks are not quotes for your local area, but they help you understand why many families choose direct cremation or simple services and then invest thoughtfully in a memorial plan.
If you want a practical, current breakdown of cremation pricing and common add-ons, Funeral.com’s guide, How Much Does Cremation Cost in the U.S.?, walks through typical fees and the cost drivers families often miss when they are making decisions under stress.
Markers, Memory, and the “Will This Be Protected Forever?” Question
One of the most meaningful parts of Honey Creek Woodlands is that it anticipates the long view. Families are not only choosing a plot; they are choosing the integrity of the place decades from now. In their FAQ, Honey Creek Woodlands states that the burial grounds are protected by a conservation easement that prohibits development forever, and they explain that a percentage of the sales price goes into a permanent endowment for care of the burial grounds. They describe the endowment as funding maintenance of trails, roads, and structures, keeping public spaces open, and managing invasive species, including recovery help after natural disasters. That “forever” language is not a marketing phrase; it is presented as a legal and financial structure in their FAQ.
They also address the practical concern families sometimes hesitate to ask: how will anyone find this grave later? Honey Creek Woodlands states they record burial data in a GIS (Geographical Information System) database based on reference markers along trails, and that those records are archived electronically and on paper. They note that families may choose not to have a marker or may select a flat stone marker purchased through Honey Creek Woodlands, and they mention that trees, shrubs, and wildflowers can sometimes be used as markers if appropriate for the location. That combination of a living landscape and careful records is part of what makes conservation burial feel both gentle and responsible.
Where Urns, Keepsakes, and Cremation Jewelry Fit Into Conservation Burial Planning
Even when a family chooses burial, the reality is that modern memorialization is rarely “one thing.” Families divide ashes. They keep a portion at home. They want a wearable reminder. They want something that allows a sibling who lives far away to feel included. According to the Cremation Association of North America, CANA’s memorialization research has found that nearly one in four U.S. households have human cremated remains in their homes. That is a powerful statistic because it reveals something emotional: many families are not ready to decide, or they want the memorial to stay close.
If you are considering keeping ashes at home, it helps to treat it as a plan rather than a pause. Funeral.com’s guide on keeping ashes at home covers practical safety, etiquette, and the conversations that prevent misunderstandings later. If a wearable keepsake is part of your memorial, you can explore cremation necklaces and the broader cremation jewelry collection, and then read Cremation Jewelry 101 for a clear explanation of how these pieces are filled and chosen without pressure.
And because families often face multiple losses across a few years, it is not unusual for a human memorial plan and a pet memorial plan to overlap. If you are also honoring an animal companion, Funeral.com’s collections include pet urns and pet cremation urns, along with more specific categories like pet figurine cremation urns and pet urns for ashes in keepsake sizes when family members want to share a small portion. For sizing guidance and personalization ideas, you may also find it helpful to read Choosing the Right Urn for Pet Ashes.
If “Water Burial” Is Part of Your Story
Families sometimes feel drawn to water as the right place—because of a loved one’s life on the coast, a long relationship with a lake, or simply the sense of release that water can symbolize. In everyday conversation, people often say water burial when they mean either scattering ashes on the ocean surface or placing ashes in a biodegradable urn that dissolves and releases remains gradually. In the U.S., burial-at-sea rules for cremated remains are more specific than many people expect. The eCFR text for 40 CFR 229.1 states that cremated remains must be buried no closer than three nautical miles from land, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides a public overview of burial at sea under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
If you are weighing a water ceremony against a conservation cemetery, it helps to be gentle with yourself: you are not choosing between “right” and “wrong,” you are choosing between two kinds of meaning. Funeral.com’s guide to water burial walks through what “three nautical miles” means in practical planning, and if you are considering a dissolving vessel, the article on biodegradable water urns for ashes can help you understand materials and ceremony timing. If your heart is set on Honey Creek Woodlands, remember that the preserve explicitly states that scattering ashes is not allowed on their land, even though they do offer burial of cremated remains in biodegradable containers. Reviewing their green burial overview and container guidance can prevent surprises later.
The Questions to Ask Before You Commit
Conservation burial grounds are often at their best when families arrive with clear questions. If you are considering Honey Creek Woodlands, these are the planning questions that tend to reduce stress later—especially when you are coordinating with a funeral home, a faith leader, and family members who may have different expectations.
- What timelines do you require for notice (full-body burial vs cremation burial), and what happens if a death occurs on a weekend or holiday?
- Which burial containers and materials are approved, and how do you recommend families coordinate biodegradable options through their funeral home?
- What are the marker options, and what does the engraved stone marker process look like in timing and cost?
- How does visitation work for family members who live far away, and what mobility accommodations are available on service days?
- How are graves recorded and located for future generations, and what should families keep in their own records?
- How is the land protected long term (conservation easement and endowment), and how are stewardship funds used over time?
If you are also comparing cremation-based memorialization, it can help to add one more question that families sometimes avoid: where do we want the “center” of the memorial to be? For some, it is a place on protected land. For others, it is a home display with a primary urn and a shared set of keepsake urns or cremation jewelry. Many families blend both. The right plan is the one that your family can carry—emotionally and practically—five years from now, not just this week.
A Gentle Way to Decide
In grief, decisions can feel heavier than they truly are because everything is happening at once. The simplest way to approach Honey Creek Woodlands is to separate meaning from logistics. Meaning is the why: a monastery-protected landscape, a return to the earth without vaults or embalming, and a place that prioritizes habitat and quiet. Logistics are the how: biodegradable containers, marker rules, visitation realities, and costs. Honey Creek Woodlands is unusually transparent about the how through its published rules, pricing, and visit expectations, and that transparency is a gift in a moment when families are often asked to make choices without enough information.
Whether you choose a full-body natural burial, a cremation burial in a biodegradable container, or a plan that includes cremation urns for ashes at home alongside a burial on conserved land, you are doing the same thing: making a place for love to continue. With the right questions and a steady pace, that choice can feel less like pressure and more like care.
