HOME RESERVATIONS & DONATIONS THE SANCTUARY AND THE LAND WHO WE ARE EVENTS CONTACT US PRIVACY POLICY
FOR IMMEDIATE CARE, CONTACT US AT (541) 500-7611
For a sudden death, please call us for instructions so we can assist you with a direct burial or refer for funeral home/mortuary transport. In the state of Oregon, you have the legal right to keep your loved one at home overnight or for up to 12 days, with the responsibility for care of the body, a home funeral, arranging family transport, and a natural burial. We will attach the ID tag, receive and inter the body, and plant and care for the chosen tree or wildflowers.
Welcome to Cathedral Trees Sanctuary
The Friends of Cathedral Trees Sanctuary is an Oregon non-profit 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(2) public-service cemetery offering affordable, non-polluting natural burials on a 48-acre preserve in the Colestin Valley near Ashland. Each burial helps restore native oak woodlands, a meadow, and watershed – a living legacy held in legal perpetuity.
In Oregon, you have the legal right to keep a deceased loved one at home and arrange a natural home funeral. Please call us at (541) 500-7611 first so we can guide you through the process.
What Makes Us Different
A Tree or Wildflowers for Every Burial
A native tree – Oregon white oak, black oak, madrone, sugar pine, mountain sequoia, or Pacific dogwood – is planted at every tree plot, growing into a heritage forest over the centuries.
Affordable for Everyone
Tree-plot reservations begin at $3,000 for a black oak, white oak, or madrone. A mountain sequoia, sugar pine, or Pacific dogwood is $5,000. A meadow burial with wildflowers is $2,500 – less than the average cremation. All donations qualify for a federal tax deduction that can be used anytime in the subsequent five years.
Restoration, Not Just Conservation
Beyond a conservation easement, we actively restore living soil, native groves, meadows, and creek habitat – rebuilding the ecosystem with each burial.
How it works
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News from the Sanctuary
In August 2025, we acquired 48 acres in the Colestin area of the Mt. Ashland Watershed, about 20 minutes south of downtown Ashland, with views of Pilot Rock and Mt. Shasta. We are now raising funds for road repair, signage, a utility vehicle, and a four-season cedar pagoda for families during inclement weather.
Each $3,000 or $5,000 donation toward road repair earns you a free tree plot reservation as our gift of thanks. At the time of need, we contract with Cathedral Trees Sanctuary LLC to bury thr body.
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Explore
Who We Are
Our mission, our story, and the people behind the sanctuary.
The Sanctuary & Land
The Colestin Valley preserve, native trees, and the groves.
Our Books
Dr. Cunningham’s comprehensive Restoring America and her newest, The Natural American Way of Death.
Events
Open house, candlelight walks, memorial gatherings.
Imperceptibly, Nature builds these mighty pillars in the cathedral of the forest. (Photo credit: NPS)