BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. — Rhea Miranda Brandenburg, funeral director of Two Taverns Cemetery and Brandenburg and Stein Funeral Parlor in Gettysburg, hosted a seminar at Blue Ridge Summit Free Library on Wednesday afternoon. The one-hour event offered a chance for local residents to come and learn about the options of green funeral services as an alternative to traditional funerals.
Green v. traditional
Green funerals are becoming a popular alternative to traditional funerals for a variety of reasons. According to https://funeralhomedirectories.com/vs/green-burial-vs-traditional-burial, the biggest difference is the cost. Green burials typically cost between $1,000-$4,000 while a traditional funeral will be in the ranges of $7,000-$15,000. This difference has created a rise in family members seeking out funeral homes that offer the green option, according to Brandenburg.
The other principal difference is the services themselves. Embalming, for example, is not typically used during green burials due to the chemicals used for the process. Brandenburg said that while the embalming process is not forbidden, it is discouraged and only used in certain instances, such as a prolonged viewing period that would require preservation of the body.
Then, there is the use of caskets and vaults. The caskets typically used during traditional burials are made of stained wood and metal, while the green burials use biodegradable bamboo, wicker and shrouds. Vaults are seldom ever used in green burials unless there is a regular use of backhoes for digging graves.
Rise in green burial
The green burial option is a rising trend in the United States. According to a study by www.newdeaths.com, there was an 11% percent rise in green burials in 2025, and the environmentally friendly option made up 20% of the services used last year.
While those numbers may not seem like a lot, in 2023, that number was around 5%. All signals indicate that there is a growing interest in green burial options.
Seeking green burial
While there are no funeral homes in Franklin or Washington County that offer green burial services at the moment, there are some establishments nearby that can offer services — Serenity Ridge Natural Burial Cemetery, located in Windsor Mill, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore (www.serenityridgemd.com), and Morris Orchard Natural Burial (www.morrisorchardnaturalburial.com), located nearby in Frederick, for example.
Brandenburg, who has been working in the mortuary business for 20 years and was a traditional funeral director, has since switched her business pursuits to green funeral services. Six years ago, she helped open a funeral home and cemetery in Gettysburg in an old church. It is now called the Brandenburg and Stein Funeral Parlor and the Two Taverns Cemetery. (www.gettysburgfunerals.com)
Brandenburg also travels around the region and holds speaking engagements where she hopes to educate the community on the options and benefits of green burial services.
