Harvesting moss from a bushland burial: Sweet idea or true crime scene?

My partner passed away and we gave him a natural burial in bushland, wrapped in a linen shroud to return gently to the earth. I visited recently and saw the most beautiful moss growing at the site. Thinking that he may have contributed to its lushness, I’d like to take some home. Is this inappropriate?
K.W., Williamstown, Vic

First, let me say how genuinely sorry I am to hear about the passing of your partner and I hope you’re doing okay. Second, let me say I had no idea you could wrap someone in linen and bury them in bushland – not legally, anyway. I’d only seen that kind of stuff on true-crime TV shows or ’90s movies where there’s a body rolled in a carpet and Joe Pesci’s holding a shovel. Third, let me say
if you buried your partner in that type of true-crime, bush-grave, Pesci-shovelling way, I might just
take back the first thing I said about my genuine sorriness.

But wait, it’s okay. I just did a bit of research into natural burials and found out that it’s a proper, legal thing. And it’s better than a cemetery because people can visit their loved ones in a peaceful bushland setting and be reminded that we’re all just organic flecks of primordial dust who must eventually return to the earth, while also getting in our 10,000 steps on the long walk there and back.

And as far as taking a bit of moss home with you – well, why not? People keep their loved one’s ashes or locks of hair or, in the case of true-crime TV shows, a toe. Just make sure you treat your partner-nurtured moss the same way you treated your partner. With love, tenderness, patience and a little spray of water on a dry, sunny day.

guru@goodweekend.com.au

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