The 142-year-old Catholic cemetery that straddles Dayton, Kettering and Moraine off South Dixie Drive is working with the University of Dayton on the project.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” said Rick Meade, superintendent of the 210-acre cemetery. “We have enough in place and it’s going to continue to be a work in progress … it’s going to take a few years to get that look that we want to achieve.”
Calvary is the first cemetery in Montgomery County to offer natural, or green, burials. Green burials typically use natural chemicals during embalming and biodegradable containers for burials.
Two other area cemeteries — Preble Memory Gardens Cemetery and Glen Forest Cemetery in Yellow Springs — also offer green burials.
While Meade said Calvary has about 1,000 plots immediately available for green burials, it is in the process of seeking a hybrid certification from the California-based Green Burial Council.
The council — which certified Preble Memorial Gardens — works with environmentalists, scientists, lawyers and representatives from the funeral service industry in determining standards and eco-certification program for burial grounds, funeral homes and burial products, according to its website.
Meade said he expects to gain certification by the end of the year.
That’s roughly the time frame Calvary expects to have the first phase of the preserve, which will be west of the mausoleum, complete. That phase will include finishing the prairie and the lake.
Phases II and III will be completed based on demand, officials said. The second phase will involve clearing walking trails and designing space in wooded areas, as well as installing a St. Kateri statue. The final phase, to be completed on the preserve’s east side, will include installing the statue of Mary.
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