PRESS RELEASE
HILLSBOROUGH, NH — Life Forest® has been awarded a Level 01 Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum, for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism. Life Forest® is also now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants. Life Forest® was established in 2019 with the mission to conserve a forest while protecting legacies of the deceased. Life Forest consists of over 13 acres and is abbutted by over 80 acres of conservation land managed by the Hillsborough Conservation Commission. There are over 25 distinct species planted as memorial trees over the course of 2 years – both native and rare. This includes two different Japanese Maples, Cardinal Dogwood, Common Juniper, Sourwood, Sargent Crabapple, Fragrant Lilac, and many more. Life Forest® offers educational programs for school children and scheduled tours to the public, but people are always welcome to peruse the land by themselves.
“Being an accredited arboretum helps us move towards our goal of conserving a forest and preserving legacies. Having an educational facet of our land is important to us and our community.”
— Cameron Ickes, Director of Forest and Family Services
About Life Forest®: Life Forest is a conservation burial ground located amongst a natural forest where trees are planted to memorialize loved ones and allows you to be buried with your pets. Life Forest believes that a compassionate burial experience, and the planting of a tree, fosters an environment of healing after loss. The burial ground is surrounded by 80 acres of conservation land where families and friends of loved ones can hike numerous trails and swim in nearby creeks. Life Forest fosters a community of healing, hosting free acoustical concerts, shared memorial gardens, and educational opportunities for those in the environmental science and deathcare industries. Because the trees act as burial monuments, the memorial trees are protected under cemetery law and legally recorded with burial plot GPS data to the Life Forest Deed.
