California park’s use of human compost draws outcry

The use of compost from human bodies on public parkland has a Central California conservation group facing criticism.

The soil has been used at Sumner Peck Ranch, a 76-acre site north of Fresno overseen by the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust. Its calendar lists events including school field trips and u-pick citrus and blueberry seasons.

The human compost has put the trust at odds with the San Joaquin River Conservancy, a group with which it has partnered in the past.

The conservancy’s chairperson, Kasey Austin-Tibbets, and Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, who’s on the group’s board, were among officials who held a news conference Thursday, March 5, in Fresno to decry the use of the compost, the Fresno Bee reported.

Bredefeld called the action illegal, without specifying what regulation he believes it violates, and implied it is environmentally harmful.

Sharon Weaver, executive director of the trust that oversees Sumner Peck, told the Bee her group believes the practice and the partnership with Earth Funerals is environmentally beneficial. “It’s very disappointing that they are trying to suggest that we’re doing something harmful to the river,” she said.

Weaver said the compost has been used since last year in a field that is away from the river and from agricultural areas.

The soil material is obtained from Earth Funerals, a company that, as an alternative to burial or cremation, converts human remains into what it calls “a nutrient-rich soil that is ready to be returned to nature.”

Families of clients whose bodies are composted can claim some or all of the resulting soil; what is left is used in the company’s two conservation projects, at the San Joaquin River site and on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

At Thursday’s press conference, Bredefeld implied the practice runs afoul of Assembly Bill 351, under which “natural organic reduction” will become legal and regulated in California in 2027. Earth Funeral’s website states that clients in states where natural organic reduction is not yet a sanctioned option can still legally use the company’s facilities, in Washington and Nevada.

Sumner Peck Ranch was acquired by the River Parkway Trust in 2020. The winemaker Solitary Cellars leases the buildings on the land, which are used for wine-tasting, live music and wedding facilities.