New Years Newsletter 2026
- Bailey McLaughlin
- Jan 4
- 7 min read
Snow blankets the boughs of white pines as Black-capped Chickadees, Brown Creepers and Red-breasted Nuthatches call out while flitting from branch to branch. The cacophony of migratory birds are long gone from our mountain ridgeline, leaving only the woodland songbirds to rejoice at the start of winter. There is much to do to prepare and, like our small avian friends, we turn with the season and embrace the shorter days and deeper snow.
Visiting in Winter
No matter what winter brings weather-wise, we remain open for burial all twelve months of the year. Visitors are welcome between dawn and dusk, but here’s what to expect if you wish to come to the Cemetery during winter:
Tracy Hill, Beaver Meadow and Cram Hill Road are VERY well maintained, but snow tires are essential and we recommend an all-wheel-drive or 4WD vehicle.
The main Cemetery Lane, the parking areas, Shepherd’s Trail and the Ring Trail are plowed and cleared 48 hours after snowfall. Traversing all other trails will require tall boots, snowshoes or skis.
You are always welcome to visit a grave in the winter season. If you wish to visit a grave that is not on a cleared trail and do not want to use tall boots/skis/snowshoes to visit, please give us several days’ notice and we will do our best to open a path for you.
The privy is closed for the season. There are bathrooms for public use at the town offices (during business hours) and at the fish hatchery (3696 Roxbury Rd/Route 12A) as well as at the Mobil station at the intersection of Vermont Routes 64 and 12 in Northfield.
Please dress warmly and use common sense and caution if visiting. The Cemetery is on a 1800’ mountain ridge facing the west, and weather is often colder and stormier (and snowier!) than in the valleys.
For those that will find visiting difficult, we understand. We can send pictures and updates of conditions at gravesites upon request.
A Year of Community
2025 has been an immense year of growing and connecting with natural burial advocates! We hosted To Live and Love as Mortals at The Savoy, ran our first ever Dirt Camp, led 16 tours through the forest, invited cemetery commissions to walk and learn with us, and screened the documentary From Earth to Earth: The Lost Art of Dying in America 31 times across the state!
We are deeply grateful for your support of the Cemetery this past year. While donations to VFC are incredibly helpful and necessary, this giving season please also consider donating to one of the local venues that hosted From Earth to Earth screenings this year.
Lincoln Library
Bixby Memorial Free Library
Rutland Free Library
Beth Jacob Synagogue
Charlotte Senior Center
Poultney Public Library
Bugbee Senior Center
Blake Memorial Library
Lyme Congregational Church
Castleton Senior Center
New Haven Library
Heineberg Community Center
Mount Holly Town Library
Middlebury Town Hall Theater
Burlington First Unitarian Universalist Church
Capital City Grange
Waterbury Public Library
If you would like us to return to any of the venues listed above or have a new venue near you where you would like to have a showing, please reach out to them and let them know. Then contact Jim Hogle at info@cemetery.eco to host a screening in your town in 2026.
Vermont Forest Cemetery in the News
We were very excited to be featured in two fabulous articles in The Montpelier Bridge written by Will Lindner. The article “Rewilding Forever at the Vermont Forest Cemetery” is about the Cemetery, how it came to be, and natural burial; and “A Natural Resolution” tells the story of one of our early burials, John Duffy, through the eyes of his widow Rachel.
The “Rewilding Forever” article was also picked up by VTDigger. Please share these stories with your friends to help spread the word, and encourage your favorite news media to consider a story featuring Vermont Forest Cemetery to help us get the word out about the cemetery and the benefits of natural burial.
A Reflection from Our Founder
Just before the snow fell, I was playing in the forest with Nico when he walked (yes, he’s walking now!) over to a birch tree, threw his arms around the trunk, and leaned back to look up into the branches, laughing.
I can’t ever be sure of what he is reacting to. But it is clear to me that the forest is a living place for Nico… one he revels in.
Many of you have heard me say that the most fitting way to honor the people we have buried is to celebrate the living beauty of the forest. So it’s been important to me to raise my son here among the graves.
Because Nico is a winter child, he grew with the seasons. Watching what he regarded of the forest from inside my winter coat, I rediscovered the stark high contrast patterns of tree shadows on sun-dazzled snow. The hints of color from the red maple blossoms and the delicate green, white, crimsons of our ephemerals were brand new in his eyes and mine. Walking beside him as he began crawling, we marveled as leaf-out gave way to the dense green summer canopy that swelled in the breeze above our heads. Though the fall colors were muted, chasing the dance of dried leaves across the trail was endlessly fascinating and the round, bright pumpkins an absolute delight. As he took his first steps on the trails we cherished the golden glow of sunset in November beech and the view of the Northfield Range in the distance. I have always found these things beautiful, but for the first time in years I had a reason to really slow down and savor them as if seeing them for the first time.
Like many of you who come here for a tour or a burial, the Cemetery is new to him. Carrying Nico forces me to move more deliberately, to narrate the world around me for his curious eyes. We move our hands over the smooth, cool surface of rocks, the rough shag of birch trees, let dirt gather in our finger nails, and listen for patterns in the river babble.
Ours is a forest full of stories. Nico might not remember the 15 burials he was at this year, but he will grow up knowing their stories. He will grow up loving the woods they have become.
-- Michelle Hogle Acciavatti
Homecoming
As we come to the close of the year, we would like to take a moment and share the names of those who we have returned to the forest.
Ron Langley
Randall Stratton
Jean Arrowsmith
Allan Friedland
Carolyn Bernstein
Milt Djuric
Doug D’Leo
Donna Abbott
John Duffy
Kyla Allon
Diane Perley
Olive Sedon
Sean Howard
Jay Ingpen
Kathleen Reilley
Noelle Glouchevitch
Gabriel Faraone
Sharonlee Trefry
Sy Conley-Lowry
Brenda Heath-Fitts
Sarena Palmer
Judy Adler Wood
Priya Ramcharan Hattiangdi
Jeannie Mallory
Patricia Marx
Brendan Marx
Iris Greene
Nick LaPlaca
Dr. James Higgins
Norman Illsley
Jean Newberry
Lorna Jimerson
Barbi Schrieber
Bonita Cummings
Pat Stimpson
Elsa Talbot
Rachel Pianka
Ellen McCullough
"There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth, though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world, even though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind."
-Hannah Szenes (courtesy of Monica and Eric Allon)
Natural Burial Q&A
While we have paused tours for winter, we are excited to bring back our Natural Burial Questions & Answers calls for the season! We will be hosting these gatherings through Zoom once a month from January through May.
Our first zoom will be on Thursday January 22nd from 6pm - 7pm.
During this interactive session, our Founder and Head Cemeterian Michelle Hogle Acciavatti will address common questions about natural burial, including:
What is natural burial?
How does it differ from traditional burial?
What are the environmental and ecological benefits?
How does Vermont Forest Cemetery preserve the natural landscape while creating a meaningful final resting place?
This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about natural burial, ask your own questions, and connect with others interested in this growing movement.
✨ Registration is free, but space is limited! Reserve your spot today to secure access to the Zoom link and participate in the conversation.
We look forward to seeing you there and exploring how natural burial can create a lasting legacy in harmony with nature.
VFC Book Club
Starting in February we will also be hosting a monthly book club! Join our death positive community to discuss Our Last Best Act: Planning for the End of Our Lives to Protect the People and Places We Love by Mallory McDuff.
“In Our Last Best Act, McDuff bridges the gap between environmental action and religious faith by demonstrating that when the two are combined, they become a powerful force for the greater good. Full of practical information and support, this book equips readers to make decisions for their own end-of-life planning. In a world experiencing a climate crisis and a culture that avoids discussions about death and dying, this book opens the conversation about the choices we make--and how it's possible for our death to honor our values, create a sustainable legacy, and help to heal the earth.”
Becca Stevens
Join us on Sunday February 22nd from 4pm - 5pm!
Those of us who work at Vermont Forest Cemetery are committed to providing the best possible service to our community, and encourage you to contact us at any time with questions, concerns or ideas at info@cemetery.eco.
We value your continued support and are deeply indebted to those of you who have volunteered to help build trails, participate in burials, or just bear witness for those experiencing loss; for those who chose to make tax deductible donations, and to those who have chosen to support us through advanced purchases of burial rights. Thank you for your continued support!
We hope to see many of you at the cemetery. It is a beautiful place in all seasons, made all the more beautiful by the stories it holds.
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