Arbory Trust: 11 Sep 08

I attended the ‘annual general meeting’ of the Arbory Trust in Barton yesterday. The trust exists to ‘manage’ a woodland burial site and has been in operation since 2000. The idea for the development of the site came from Peter Owen-Jones, now a well-known TV Rev, and we were told at the AGM that the trust has exceeded all expectations.

I became aware of the site in 2001 or thereabouts when my mother brought it to my attention. She was old enough to be thinking about such things and said that when she died she’d like to be buried in such a location. The newspaper article in which she’d read of the Arbory Trust mentioned Peter whom I knew so that follow up was easy.

However I did not have a religous relationship with Peter. I knew him because he was a part time advertising man working for the agency with which served my company. He was an excellent creative writer and excellent company. I’m sure that he still is.

The Arbory Trust site in Barton is consecrated land. The Trust is a Christian Foundation chaired by the Bishop of Ely but it welcomes all ‘regardless of race and religion’. The woodland site is a sensible and sustainable alternative to a traditional burial and when my mother died she was cremated and is now ‘at rest’ in Barton.