Our
Societal issues
The current concept of cemeteries has become obsolete in several respects.
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Most urban cemeteries are reaching saturation point, especially since the impact of the end of the "baby boom" will lead to an increase of more than 150,000 additional deaths in the coming decade (average base 655,000 deaths / year in France ).
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New environmental regulations force municipalities to limit inputs in the maintenance of cemeteries and to leave more room for nature around graves.
Increasingly dispersed families are abandoning the state of the graves, and there is a steady increase in cremation, which reveals the evolution of mentalities.
Cremation in France
The mode of funeral by cremation is constantly on the rise:
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In 2011 it concerned 31% of deaths while in 1975 0.4% of funerals were cremations.
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The share is currently at 35% in France, 45% in Paris and up to 60% in major provincial cities.
In Northern Europe the rate is 70% incineration.
The return of ashes to the wild, weakly regulated by law, authorizes scattering under certain conditions. However, this practice causes a real loss in the family and collective memory for future generations.
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Indeed, the places chosen are not guaranteed to be immutable over time, and in the case of dispersion in nature, the absence of a location marker or quite simply forgetfulness erases the memory after one or two generations. .
Cities are getting denser
The projections tell us that
80% of the population will be urban by 2030, that’s in 10 years….
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This intense urbanization of cities will lead to a proven phenomenon of pollution stagnation and therefore an impact on life expectancy.
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The impact of the end of the "baby boom" will accelerate the "saturation" of many cemeteries, therefore the modification of the duration of the concessions is already no longer sufficient.
Our
Human issues
Death today is a useless end when... we could be useful even after our death!
The Sanctuary Forest offers the opportunity to access this universal dream: "to fall asleep for eternity at the foot of a tree"
The notion of nature as a remedy for the ills of civilization is not new, today all humans share the observation of a lack of nature in the city and a large majority calls for "a city that puts nature back in heart of the city”.
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Among 18-35 year olds, climate change and the destruction of nature are already considered the priority global issue.
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This generation is gaining in influence, and is increasingly committed to actions in favor of the protection of biodiversity.
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85% of French people are fans of walks in the forest. (26/04/2019 on France Inter a meeting with Peter Wohlleben German forester and Laurent Tillon expert in French biodiversity)
Japanese researchers have shown that regular walking in the forest, (what they call taking a forest bath or Shinrin Yoku), leads to a decrease in the level of cortisol in the blood, a drop in blood pressure and activates the nervous system. parasympathetic, inducing a relaxation response. (See The Need for Nature in the Digital Era-Mélusine Martin - Sorbonne University)
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The Sanctuary Forest represents for distant families a place of contemplation where one moves there more willingly to take the time for a rejuvenating walk than to go to the cemetery to honor the dead on All Saints' Day. In this sense, the Sanctuary Forest promotes the memory attachment which is thus part of the duration.