The article on green burials ("Seeking a natural end in Baltimore County," February 9, 2015) was well done and will help enlighten more people.
I suggest that it would be helpful to have two support people, a son/daughter and a friend. My eldest son, with his brothers and sister, all of whom have "jobs" to do when my time comes, will follow the plan. My friend is Erich March of the family that owns and operates the March funeral homes.
The basic premise of green burials is that everything is to be biodegradable. The body is not embalmed, so time becomes more important in the plan. Also, very few cemeteries allow green burials. There are only two cemeteries in Maryland which offer them. Bestgate, which you mentioned and one, I think, on the Eastern Shore. (Having Erich March as a friend meant that he could call someone in the state government for that help.)
I was told that Jewish and Muslim people have different practices which are like green burials. The casket is not to have any attachments made of metal. (A Trappist monastery in the Midwest sells them.) The grave shall be dug by hand so as to not disrupt or sever roots of bushes or trees. There is no cement vault, into which the casket is lowered, as the vault is there to help with mowing.
Having a whole cemetery or many acres dedicated to green burials will be a great help in making the practice more known and adopted.
George E. Brown