Celebrate the winter solstice with a special event with Campo de Estrellas to learn about honoring change, building community, and protecting the Environment through conservation burial.
WHEN: December 21, 2014, 12 pm - 6 pm
WHERE: Campo de Estrellas IN KOVAr, TX (50 minutes from Central Austin)
COST: $7+ Sliding Scale Donation
Discover the environmental impact of conservation burial, as we discuss natural interment practices that protect and restore our earth. Learn the history, benefits, and beauty of sustainable burial, explore personal options, and join us in preserving a lasting connection to the land. We will end the day with a reflective sunset ecology walk and yule log ceremony honoring nature’s cycles.
itinerary
12:00 - 3:00 PM: Arrive, enjoy mushroom snacks and drinks and presentation on conservation burial.
3:00 - 3:30 PM: Mock burial
3:45 - 5:30 PM: Sunset ecology walk to collect plants for the yule log, and look for star mushrooms.
5:30 PM: Yule log burning at the farmhouse after the cemetery activities.
MORE ABOUT THE CONSERVATION BURIAL WORKSHOP
This workshop celebrates the sacred cycles of nature, echoing the themes of the winter solstice: renewal, introspection, and balance. Discover the unique story of Campo de Estrellas—a reminder that every part of the earth holds its own intrinsic value and deserves to be honored and preserved. Through conservation burial, we demonstrate how natural interment practices not only restore our living environment but also allow us to become part of nature’s enduring cycle. Explore the historical and legal landscape surrounding burial rights, emphasizing the individual’s role in choosing an honorable and sustainable resting place. We’ll walk you through the journey we took to establish our cemetery as a public space of rest and reflection, honoring both the personal and environmental significance of this practice. Dive into the details of conservation burials with honest, clear descriptions that dispel common misconceptions. We’ll discuss the actual look and mechanics of natural burial, helping you consider meaningful questions for yourself or loved ones as you explore this option. For those interested, a hands-on demonstration will provide a closer experience of shrouding and processing to a gravesite, underscoring the solstice theme of resilience as we return to the earth in harmony with nature.
ABOUT THE EDUCATORS
Sarah Wambold is a licensed funeral director and writer in Austin, TX. She has worked in the funeral industry for over a decade, as both a funeral director and as a caretaker for a natural burial cemetery.
An Austin native, Michael Ybarra co-founded Ybarra PLLC in New York City in 2010 with fellow associates from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, one the country’s premier law firms. Outside the office, he is a Trustee of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and an Economic Prosperity Commissioner for the City of Austin.
Cindy Ybarra is a retired public health nurse, gardener and founder of Wild Hare Abbey, an urban, multi-generational co-living project. For as long as she can remember, she has been an advocate of caring for the environment, having won in grade school, for two years running, the first prize for her essays on soil conservation. She is involved in a reforestation and rewilding project at her family’s farm. There is no more room for trees at Wild Hare Abbey due to her vigorous efforts at that location.
Chris Garza is an ecologist that is exceptionally passionate about plants, insects, fungi and the relationships between them. He is a Certified Ecologist, ISA Certified Arborist, Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner in Training, and is part of the Board of Directors for the Travis Audubon Society. Between school and work, he has been involved in the Texas environmental realm for about 15 years.