It may be kind of a taboo subject but have you ever thought about burial options? There may be more then you think. Some people will leave it up to their living family members. Others may choose. One option of course the traditional burial. Your body is placed in coffin and you are buried in the ground. On the other hand, you could choose to be cremated and sit in an urn or have you ashes scattered
One particular method of handling your earthy remains many people may not have heard of is making your remains into an eternal reef memorial reef. Eternal Reefs are placed in the sea and are designed to last over 500 years. These reefs provide habitats for fish and other marine wildlife.
Two college students originally thought of the idea in the 1980’s. They were frequent divers. On their many dives, they began to notice that the coral reefs were deteriorating quite badly. This is potentially harmful to the many fish and other aquatic animals that make their homes in these reefs. They felt the need to remedy this problem and hence came the idea of the reef ball project.
The first reef ball was placed off the coast of Florida near Fort Lauderdale in 1990. It was made of concrete and contained no remains. That part did not come in until about 1998. The father-in-law of one of the founders passed on. Shortly before passing on he requested that his ashes be made part of an eternal reef. On May 1, 1998, he got his wish and his eternal reef was placed in the sea.
After that, word spread. People choose this option as a way to give back even after they are gone. It also provides what many people see has better alternative to scattering the ashes of a loved one because they can visit the Eternal Reef memorial anytime they wish.
The foundation provides family members with exact GPS locations of the reefs. Some would be concerned the reefs may move due to hurricanes and other changes that occur naturally but through monitoring they have found that these reefs do stay in place, Some have even been hit directly by hurricanes and were not damaged or displaced.
The process of making an eternal reef is very simple and easy. The ashes of the deceased are mixed with concrete and poured in to a mold. Family members and friends are then allowed to write in the wet concrete or even place their handprints onto the reef. You can also choose to have spouses who have passed on or even pets placed into the reef as well.
There is a dedication ceremony and if need be there is also an option of having military honors if the decreased is a veteran.
This is a very neat way to memorialize a loved one and help the environment as well. They can in a sense live on forever. Since the original reef ball was placed in 1990 over 3,500 reef projects have been place and you can bet the fish are very thankful of their new homes.
