Better Place Forests in Scandia provides unique final resting place for dead loved ones

SCANIDA, Minn. — Mikaela Del Guidice lost her father unexpectedly just days before Christmas. 

Glen Del Guidice was a father of three, a nature lover and a DNR wildlife biologist.

"He was amazing," Mikaela Del Guidice said. "He loved wildlife and was so passionate about the outdoors."

While grief doesn't get any easier, Mikaela Del Guidice says she's at peace knowing her dad is at the St. Croix Valley Forest with Better Place Forests. It's a natural alternative to cemeteries and one of nine protected forests used in this way across the country.

"We picked an oak because it reminded us of him, you know sturdy and robust," Mikaela Del Guidice said.

Glen Del Guidice's memorial tree is one of thousands available on the 112-acre property in Scandia, which is about a 45-minute drive northeast of the Twin Cities.

"We aren't trying to compete with anyone else, it's just a different option," St. Croix Valley Forest General Manager Tori Nonnemacher said. "When you've chosen a tree here in our location, or any of our locations, you're actually helping us conserve and preserve these areas."

A typical memorial starts with a loved one's ashes. The ashes are then combined with forest soil and dried flowers. It's then placed at the base of their designated tree. Eventually, a memorial plaque is placed at the base of the tree.  

"We hear a lot of people say that they feel better once they've been through the forest as they are leaving than when they came in," Nonnemacher said.

It was true for the Del Guidice family.

"We came kind of sad and melancholy and the memorial there was just no sadness. It was just closure, and we were so happy that he was here," Mikaela Del Guidice said.

"There's just so much scientific data and proof that it really does offer us some healing," Nonnemacher said. "So to be able to offer that to someone in times of transition, moments of grief, or just trying to connect with the next stage or step of their life is going to be and this can offer them that."

Nearly two years after her dad's passing, Mikaela Del Guidice visits his tree often.

"To be that close to the wildlife and to the nature makes me feel very, very close to him. You can feel his presence," Mikaela Del Guidice said.

And while grief can be dense like the forest she walks, with it there's joy.

"Every single time my family comes out here, we always think how he would and is loving this so much," she said. "It is exactly, exactly where she would have wanted to be."

Right now, there are about 150 memorials at Better Place Forests St. Croix Valley and around 600 reserved trees. Along with individual memorials, family trees are an option — family pets can also be memorialized in the forest.

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