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Better Place Forests at Lake Arrowhead is a beautiful alternative to traditional cemeteries, according to co-founder Sandy Gibson.
Forests are ‘better places’ for cremated remains
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pasadena Weekly Executive Editor
Better Place Forests launched a conservation memorial forest, Better Place Forests Lake Arrowhead, so those who choose cremation can reserve a protected tree to rest their ashes. he added. During tours of the property, guests can see the property and learn more about the rising demand for alternative death care options and how Better Place Forests
“The idea for Better Place Forests came from my experience with cemeteries,” said Sandy Gibson, the co-founder and chief executive officer.
The only available plot was close to the road, and Gibson’s mom did not care for that. She wanted enough spaces for her; her husband; and potentially Gibson, his brother and their spouses. They settled on it.
“It was tough, because he never chose this place and it wasn’t a nice place,” Gibson said.
“My mom did her best to make it sound good, but it was pretty obvious that none of us really liked the spot. We hadn’t designed a tombstone before. We ended up with a shiny black granite tombstone that was terrible. From the gravesite, we could see the cars and the bus stops. It’s just not a beautiful location.”
A year later, Gibson’s mother’s cancer returned, and she died.
Lake Arrowhead is Better Place Forests’ 10th forest nationwide, and the fifth in California. Located in the San Bernardino Mountains, along the Rim of the World scenic byway, and just 90 minutes from Los Angeles, Better Place Forests Lake Arrowhead is SoCal’s first conservation memorial forest.
Wildfires are an issue and a direct effect of climate change, Gibson said. The need for a way to conserve local forestland is important. Approved by the San Bernardino County Fire Department, Better Place Forests’ new forest management plan allows those who choose cremation to reserve a beautiful, private and permanently protected tree to return their ashes to the earth and leave a lasting legacy of conservation, customers find peace planning end of life knowing they’re helping to conserve the San Bernardino Forest. “On my mom’s birthday, March 1, in 2015, I was sitting there listening to traffic and the bus stop,” Gibson said. “I just thought there has to be a better place than this. “That’s where the name comes from. This is a place that people would want to remember the person they love. When I think of my mom, I think of a black tombstone. Here, the world is a little bit more beautiful because you lived. I think that’s something that we all aspire to.” Gibson called Better Place Forests a sustainable alternative to traditional cemeteries. Pricing varies on location and setting, tree type and size, and the number of memorial ceremonies. Visit betterplaceforests.com. “By choosing a tree, you’re helping to contribute to the purchase of the land from private landowners to the creation of endowment funds to maintain that land forever,” he said. “Then we restrict development on those property. Each county is different in the way we do it. In some cases, we work toward conservation easements and other places.” Gibson said he found 80% of baby boomers choose cremation, but they are not pre-purchasing in cemeteries. “It’s not that they don’t care about rituals and they care about their family being taken care of,” he said. “They want something different. They’re drawn to values like celebrating life or taking up less space and leaving the world a little bit more beautiful.”
Liam de Villa Bourke, 17, is CEO of Compost Culture. Twyla Metcalfe, 15, is COO.
‘Compost Culture’ promotes a culture of sustainability By Doyoon Kim Pasadena Weekly Staff Writer
Composting is easy and the natural process of decay is a fun community activity, according to Liam de Villa.
In 2020, de Villa co-founded with Patrick Latting Compost Culture, which provides curbside food scrap and organic waste pickup service in South Pasadena and San Marino.
The teens and their volunteers share the benefits of composting through videos, workshops and events.
The group operates a compost collection and distribution booth at the South Pasadena
Farmers Market to reduce the amount of organic matter going into landfills in their communities by composting.
De Villa said food scraps and organic waste that’s being thrown into trash cans and the landfill do not compost correctly, producing methane emissions that contribute to global warming. A sustainable solution to the problem is decomposing this organic matter and recycling it into compost.
Compost Culture started as a club for environmentalism at South Pasadena High School.
Latting and de Villa received a $5,000 grant from the Dragon Kim Fellowship to launch their service project. They received another $5,000 grant through the Dragon Challenge, a social entrepreneurship incubator to grow their nonprofit.
“We faced two main problems when starting Compost Culture,” de Villa said. “We thought we would have to go through the city to get approval of our project. This took about two months to get approval. Finding a composting site was another challenge, as we needed to find a big area. For a while, we were composting at an area 40 minutes away from us.”
The duo faced challenges getting Compost Culture off the ground, but they saw positive change in a short amount of time, thanks to the nonprofit’s 20 volunteers and three drivers.
“Our management is really just a team of volunteers who are interested (in our work).
We currently have different committees for San Marino, South Pasadena, schools and finance to run Compost Culture,” said Twyla Metcalfe, Compost Culture’s chief operating officer.
The group has several goals, including the creation of a system and structure that works effectively to make sure the NPO runs smoothly. They hope to persuade their peers to be Photo by Luis Chavez environmentally conscious. Compost Culture compostculture.org
