Poetree - Urn and tombstone at the same time

"Eco-funeral" or "green burial" is a growing trend in the last few years. Poetree, the latest invention of French industrial designer Margaux Ruyanta is a welcome addition to many end-of-life options. From Neptune’s underwater reef to Fernwood Green Cemetery in the Mill Valley, it’s interesting to observe a growing emphasis on reducing our carbon footprint not only in life but also in death.

Ruyan’s ecological Urn design offers a unique cremation alternative for those with a penchant for planetary consciousness. Deforestation of the most important natural forest areas on Earth (such as the Amazon) has today become a kind of poster for environmental concerns, and rightly so.

Designer Ruyanta from Poetree wants us to embark on a simple and symbolic act of creating an environment for a new tree to thrive. The Poetree urn thus performs a kind of dual function; it is at the same time a container for the remains of a loved one, as well as an environmentally advanced container in which the survivors of the deceased can plant a seedling of remembrance. Planting and caring for the tree ultimately promotes a sense of consciousness on several levels, one being environmental and the other emotional.

What is Poetree?

Poetree is a ceramic ring with a cork ash container and an opening at the top for a tree from which it can grow. In fact, Poetree is a hybrid that combines urn and monument at the same time.

How It Works

When the family decides to bury with Poetree, they bring home not only a cremated loved one, but also a seedling of boxwood, which will eventually be planted in the Urn. Then, when the family feels ready, plant the seedling in a Poetree urn. It is a symbolic, poetic act that begins the growth and care for a new life while respecting the life of a loved one who has just died. In this way, the Poetree urn truly accompanies the family through the various stages of the mourning process with grace and a tangible sense of recovery after such a difficult time.

When the Poetree is laid in the ground and the tree is mature enough, the cork will fall apart in the ground, and the ceramic ring represents the tombstone for the deceased - which is now also part of the tree. A sustainable memorial is a sign of their passing, but at the same time a gentle reminder of the cycle of life.

"Planting a tree and caring for it ultimately promotes a sense of consciousness on multiple levels, one being environmental and the other emotional."

The urn itself is beautifully designed and made of white ceramic, on which the details of the deceased are engraved. Poetree's whole concept is, for Ruyant, "to keep the funeral process simple" and "to bring death back into the cycle of the restoration of nature."

Photo credit: treehugger.com

Poetree offers an environmentally conscious and emotionally refreshing means of accepting death as a necessary part of life. What better way could there be to deal with your fear of death than by cultivating a new life? And especially with one that is so inextricably linked to the life and memory of a loved one.

Credit for all images in this blog post goes to  Poetree by Margaux Ruyant