Our Values
- We respect people of all origins, cultures, faiths and beliefs.
- We aim to surpass the desires and expectations of all those we serve.
- We acknowledge the needs of the disabled and physically infirm.
- We respect the landscape setting of our Parks and actively employ strategies that encourage environmental improvement and the spread of biodiversity within them.
- We act with integrity, dignity, transparency and respect towards others.
- We encourage our staff to maximise their potential in all aspects of their work, providing suitable training as appropriate.
- We actively support the local community in each area that we serve.
Our Promise
Our promise is to provide service and burial options that surpass all the desires and the expectations of the bereaved. We adopt an enlightened approach to changing attitudes towards conventional practices, while at the same time retaining absolute respect for the culture, traditions and the environment within which we operate.
Our Concept
Woodland is a much loved part of the English countryside. Every season has its special moments - anyone who has visited a Bluebell Woodland in the spring will not forget its beauty, and who can forget the thrill of kicking leaves and collecting conkers in the autumn? Woodland has a natural cycle of life, and it is essential for mankind to flourish - throughout history, woodland has provided for our needs of shelter, fuel, food and implements. Today, in the 21st Century, we are realising more than ever what a crucial role our woodlands play - not only standing as places of natural beauty, but providing food and shelter for animals, protecting soils, and counteracting the effects of carbon in our atmosphere.
At Woodland Burial Parks we have established unique places where burials can take place amongst the quiet tranquillity of a mature English Woodland. Our Parks are havens for wildlife and natural indigenous plants and trees, and our specialist management techniques ensure that the woodlands are enhanced and improved over the years, creating for our descendants a legacy of great beauty and importance. Graves are laid out in circles amongst the trees, and only wooden memorials are permitted - over years these will return to the soil as part of the Cycle of Life - the underlying principle upon which our concept is based.
Within the beauty of the woodland, our staff, facilities and services provide an unsurpassable experience for those who choose to have the funeral of their loved one in one of our Parks, and by choosing this appealing and natural alternative, there can be a healing and a peace in commemorating a death which might not be found in other forms of funeral services. Time is allowed for each family, and our trained staff are always on hand for support and advice. For those who wish to plan for their final resting place during their own lifetime, plots may be chosen and purchased in advance.
Our passion for the environment goes beyond our conservation and management work within our Parks. We have active programmes of education involving children from the local communities, local schools, and other interested organisations. We also actively support the charity Tree Aid, to whom we donate a sum for every burial, ash interment or ash scattering. This charity has planting schemes in Africa, where, to quote a village Elder, "Without trees we have no life". We feel that this is a fitting way in which to remember those who have died, through enriching the lives of our fellow human beings.
We hope that those who choose our Woodland Burial Parks will find the experience enriching and positive, and that visitors who come to us will find places of peace and inspiration, places for contemplation and remembrance, meditation and reflection, but most of all, places where, in the truest sense, life goes on.
Our Principles
Our Commitment to the Environment
We actively employ strategies that continually encourage the environmental improvement and enhance the natural biodiversity of our Parks and acknowledge our role in limiting climate change.
The Company therefore:
has devised clear and precise rules in our Parks to ensure that environmental objectives are met.
monitors and reviews all aspects of its environmental policies on a regular basis to ensure best practice.
aims to minimise its carbon footprint by constructing buildings using sustainable materials and whenever possible renewable energy, and adopting the highest standards in energy conservation, waste management and recycling;
uses ecologically sound techniques in managing its assets and the woodlands, minimising the use of pesticides.
provides an educational programme which raises public awareness of the environment, energy conservation and the value of native woodlands, their habitats and wildlife.
engages all age groups in actively encouraging natural wildlife diversity through their activities within its Parks, and their contribution to habitat creation and management, e.g. by native planting, bird feeding and nest box provision and management
encourages funeral directors and their clients to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of non biodegradable materials in coffins and the elimination of timber from non-sustainable sources.
contributes appropriately to environmental charitable causes relevant to the business
- identifies and develops Parks where it can make a direct and positive contribution to restoring and expanding native woodland and habitats for the benefit of future generations.