Your Final Resting Place Could Be A Reef

What if death could also bring new life?

Instead of placing ashes in urns or scattering them in quiet ceremony, United Kingdom-based company Resting Reef incorporates cremated remains into handcrafted underwater memorials that help regenerate damaged marine ecosystems.

The idea for Resting Reef emerged from a deeply personal place, explained co-founder Aura Murillo.

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"My father unexpectedly passed, and it was one of the most traumatic moments in my life," she said.

That grief, coupled with her frustration over what she referred to as the cold, bureaucratic nature of the death care industry, led her to explore how she could help change the experience for others.

At the time, her co-founder, Louise Skajem, was focusing on sustainability and marine design. Their shared goals came together, which laid the foundations for Resting Reef — a new kind of memorial that would give back to the planet.

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“In the U.K., 95% of oyster reefs have been lost because of climate change, and in the world, it's 85%,” Murillo said. “So we realized that there was a need for solutions to help revive these ecosystems.”

They began working with coral reefs, tailoring their restoration methods to a host of sites around the globe.

The memorials are created using a combination of human ashes and crushed oyster shells, two elements that are proven to nourish marine growth. The formula is then made into reef structures using 3D printing or molding techniques.

“Once we receive loved ones' ashes, we work with the local community of each of our sites, and with them we handcraft the memorial reefs and we carefully place it underwater,” Murillo said.

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Human memorials start at £3900 (about $5,300), which is slightly cheaper than the average cost of a funeral ceremony and burial in the United States. If families wish to be on site for the burial, they have the option to pay an additional fee for a local ceremony.

The Resting Reef team hopes their efforts will balance out the environmental toll of traditional funerals. “Land that is used for cemeteries needs to be deforested, and then sometimes these practices require excessive use of polluting materials like steel and cement,” Murillo explained. “Embalming fluids go to the groundwater and they pollute the groundwater.”

“We've seen that there's trends showing that people are opting for climate conscious solutions when it comes to death care services,” notes Murillo, pointing out the industry had been stagnant for hundreds of years, “We're still providing meaning to families, but there's definitely that element of the planet and nature and doing something good for it."

Families receive quarterly updates on the progress of their loved one's "reef" as marine life returns. So far, Murillo says, the impact has been remarkable: “Our latest monitoring showed that our memorial reefs have 14 times more biodiversity than nearby degraded sites, and we have attracted 84 different types of fish.”

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The reefs have also had a socioeconomic ripple effect. The pilot site, located in the village of Tulamben in northern Bali, created 10 new jobs, "and we are also estimating that there's lots more generated because of ecotourism,” Murillo said. The company is now preparing to expand into Mexico, Barbados, and the U.K.

The emotional impact has been just as powerful. “A lot of people define Resting Reef as something beautiful and poetic,” Murillo said. “Suddenly it's kind of redefining the way that we're thinking about our loved ones and thinking about legacy and the things that we are leaving behind in this world."

At the heart of it all is a simple but powerful belief: “At Resting Reef, we see death not as a final phase, but something that it's part of the cycle of nature.”

With every reef, Resting Reef aims to quietly reshape how we say goodbye — by initiating a new hello.

Weather.com lead editor Jenn Jordan explores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.