A couple crouches at the base of a memorial tree with their dog at a Better Place Forests location. The memorial tree is part of their end-of-life planning journey.

Choose a Tree
instead
of a tombstone

Spread ashes beneath your own Memorial Tree in a protected forest.

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Memorial Tree and Memorial Marker at Better Place Forests

A natural alternative to cemeteries

Better Place Forests’ nine forests feature more than 100,000 protected Memorial Trees so you can find your forever home in the forest. In partnership with nonprofits like the Arbor Day Foundation, we’ve planted over 500,000 new saplings to help reforest America.

END OF LIFE CAN BE FULL OF LIFE

Create Your Own Traditions

Start a new family tradition of honoring and connecting with loved ones in the forest.

A celebration,
not a funeral

Choose the natural way to return to the earth.

A couple stands next to a memorial tree with their dog while they discuss their end-of-life plans with one of Better Place Forests knowledgeable forest guides

Choose a Memorial Tree

Explore our forests online or in-person and choose your personal tree with a Guide.

A forest guide speaks to a family about their forest memorial planning while on a tour at Better Place Forests

Plan a Forest Memorial

Create a meaningful memorial. Plan readings, music, and more.

A family stands next to a memorial tree of a loved one. Thinking of obituary examples for a sister

Spread ashes​

Ashes are mixed with local soil and returned to the
base of your tree.

A family sits in a meadow admiring a grove of memorial trees at a Better Place Forests location

Visit and remember

You and your loved ones have ongoing access
to the forest.

Get a fresh perspective on natural, end-of-life planning.

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Every Memorial Tree Includes:

A couple and their dog crouch at the base of a memorial tree

Your choice of tree in a protected forest

A couple walks with their dog viewing memorial tree options as part of their end-of-life planning in a Better Place Forests location. Thinking about their obituary samples

Rights to add people and pets in the future

Some people walking through a Better Place Forests location looking for a Memorial Tree as part of their end-of-life planning journey

Ongoing access to enjoy the forest

A small tree sapling is growing in a Better Place Forests protected location

Saplings planted in your honor

Your Memorial Tree helps preserve and protect a beautiful forest that your family can visit for generations to come.

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Memorial Trees start at $5,900

Payment plans are available

A young pine tree in a small clearing in a forest. This tree is one of the options you can purchase as a memorial tree
Keepsake Ponderosa Pine #735

with 25 additional saplings planted in honor

$5,900
A photo of one of the Better Place Forests guides standing near a memorial tree

Overheard from our Guides

With sweeping views from the front of Ponderosa Passage, this tree is easily accessible from the forest’s entrance. Behind it lies a wetland meadow yielding sunflowers and Larkspur in spring, with expansive skies above.

a photo of a green and yellow group of trees canopy that almost glows in the sunlight
Legacy Black Birch #945

with 100 additional saplings planted in honor

$7,900
A photo of one of the Better Place Forests guides with a forest in fall color behind them

Overheard from our Guides

Two trees, fused at their base into one, stand as a unique testament to the interconnectedness of nature’s creations. Their intertwined roots and shared growth symbolize unity and strength, embodying the resilience of life’s bonds.

A Redwood tree growing on a rolling hill surrounded by ferns and other vegetation. Several of Better Place Forests locations in California offer Redwood trees for memorials.
Monument Redwood #2019

with 200 additional saplings planted in honor

$13,900
A photo of one of the Better Place Forests guides with Redwood trees in the background

Overheard from our Guides

This tree lives in busy area of our forest with squirrels, birds and deer feasting on tan oak acorns. It grows from and was nourished by the mother stump next to it which is also now home to a huckleberry bush.

An image of the organic forest floor materials gathered at the base of a tree before a ash spreading ceremony. an option of a natural burial

Return to nature with a Forest Memorial ​

Plan a Forest Memorial with the help of a dedicated Guide at every step of the way. From choosing the perfect tree to crafting your marker inscriptions, we’re here to support you.

A woman with her hand on the tree trunk stands next to a very tall Memorial Tree located in a Better Place Forests protected location.
Find your
forever tree

Take a short survey and our team can help you find your Memorial Tree online or in-forest.

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Compare Green Options

A family and their dog crouch at the base of a Memorial Tree in a Better Place Forests location. A Forest Guide stands behind them ready to answer any questions about the memorial process.

Memorial Tree

What is it?

Protected forest tree to return ashes to the earth

Environmental Impact

Carbon Capture

Final Resting Place

Yes

Legal

Yes

Cost in 2024

$4,900 and up

A whicker casket with flowers on top of it sits on a tree stump. Natural burials are one sustainable end-of-life option.

natural burial

What is it?

Bio-degradable casket or shroud for burial

Environmental Impact

Neutral

Final Resting Place

Yes

Legal

Yes

Cost in 2024

$4,000 – $20,000+

An alkaline hydrolysis machine used for water cremations

water cremation

What is it?

Immersion of alkaline water for decomposition

Environmental Impact

Negligible

Final Resting Place

No

Legal

Select Sates

Cost in 2024

$2,000 – $5,000+

Two wooden bowls sit on a table with organic materials in them that are part of the human composting process. Human composting or terramation is one sustainable end-of-life option.

human composting

What is it?

Decomposition that turns remains into soil

Environmental Impact

Negligible

Final Resting Place

No

Legal

Select Sates

Cost in 2024

$5,000 – $7,000+

Couple and dog at Memorial Tree with Guide

Learn more about sustainable memorials

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