Mayke van der Werken is a relationship manager at the Mepperdennen natural cemetery. “This means that we go outside with people to find a place where they want to be buried. We also provide support at funerals so that everything runs smoothly.”
Yet another task is becoming an increasingly important part of the job. Van der Werken also gives guided tours of the site, and in addition to questions about green funerals and natural burials, visitors are increasingly asking questions about nature.
Strict rules apply at Mepperdennen. For example, the coffin must be biodegradable and there may be a wooden memorial plaque on the grave, but no stone gravestone, for example. Mother organization Natuurcegraafplaats van Waarde sees itself partly as a nature manager, Monique Kranendonk explains.
“We bury in the middle of nature, and in doing so we ensure that nature continues to exist forever,” says the communications manager. “The places blend in with nature. And because of this we can ensure that this area always remains nature, also for the future generation.”
The result is that the nature reserve is attracting more and more nature lovers. Both those who ultimately want to be buried here, and those who just want to walk around and enjoy nature. “It is always busy. It is a beautiful quiet area, so it really is a nature reserve where recreation is also practiced.”
“When an ecologist is present, you become a bit hesitant, because you are aware that you do not know everything about it,” says Mayke van der Werken. That is why all five guides from Mepperdennen received a guide course from IVN nature education. An important part of this is that you not only tell the story, but also let the visitors experience it. For example, Van der Werken points to an orange mushroom: “Where in the past I would have told them that this was an orange cup mushroom, I would now say that they should feel the structure.”
At the natural cemetery there is eternal rest and people only have to pay a one-time amount. That is why not everyone who is interested is necessarily a nature lover. That is what Van der Werken hopes to make of them. “We hope that we can get people enthusiastic about nature. That they feel connected and thereby regain some appreciation for nature.”