"One thing certain about life is that we all die. With this certainty comes the customary duty of organising farewells to and final preparations of the dead. While these rites and rituals vary across times and cultures, so do forms of body disposal – whether the deceased is earth-buried, sea-buried, sky-buried or cremated, and whether remains are buried forever, placed in vaults or scattered. These practices are important for both people and place" - Ruth McManus
University of Canterbury Associate Professor Ruth McManus Photo: supplied
Christchurch academic Ruth McManus has been awarded a Marsden Fund Standard Grant to research New Zealand's body disposal systems. which are environmentally unsustainable.
She tells Jesse Mulligan how we can 'green up' the burial process.
Ruth McManus is an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury's Sociology department. She is calling on the green innovators of Christchurch – including people with mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) – to help develop a climate-change adaptation strategy.
