The Roques Blanques Cemetery launches green niches, a new initiative to revitalize vertical graves

Barcelona, October 26, 2018.- Àltima, an expert in managing funeral services, funeral homes, crematoria, and cemeteries in Catalonia, is inaugurating a new space for vertical graves at the Regional Cemetery Parc de Roques Blanques. These are green niches, designed as a modular vertical garden with aromatic species, creating a new landscape of rest and contemplation integrated within the Collserola Natural Park.

For over 10 years, since Àltima began exclusively implementing environmentally respectful and sustainable services integrated into the natural environment, the company has maintained these values in all its projects. In this context, in a protected and serene environment, the new green graves aim to improve the environmental qualities of the site, in harmony with the surrounding mountains.

As Joan Ventura, director of Cemeteries at Àltima, explained, “Our recent initiatives have been related to ash management, but we believe there is room for innovation in vertical graves to better adapt them to our surroundings.”

In these spaces, which became available this October, native species adapted to the local climate conditions are introduced. These species do not compete with each other and attract local flora and fauna, offering a new vision of commemorative spaces that promote biodiversity.

Successful reception of services for "The Forest Path"

After a year since the inauguration of "The Forest Path," the largest natural space in Spain for ashes has been well received by users. Located at the Regional Cemetery Parc Roques Blanques, in Papiol (Baix Llobregat), it allows for the burial of biodegradable natural wood urns along an existing path within the cemetery grounds. After its first year of operation, it already has 180 urns, exceeding initial expectations.

According to Joan Ventura, director of Cemeteries at Àltima, “The Forest Path perfectly aligns with our goal of sustainable and environmentally respectful management, just as over 10 years ago, we committed to projects like the "Forest of Calm," with 1,153 trees planted, the "Garden of Rest," with 1,049 services provided, the "Fountain of Rest," with 237 services, and the "Family Trees," which now has 402 specimens.” The Forest Path project has already received three awards: winner in the Innovation in Construction category at the 2018 Catalonia Construction Awards; the 2018 EMAS Catalonia Award in the “Improvement of Environmental Performance” category; and recognized as the “Best Environmental Initiative” in the Spanish Cemeteries Competition organized by Adiós Cultural.

Initiatives like these position Roques Blanques as a leading cemetery in Spain regarding sustainable ash management alternatives. Àltima highlights that ecological alternatives, such as those launched at Roques Blanques, promote more sustainable and environmentally friendly burial practices. In this regard, the company notes that 77% of Àltima funeral service users now opt for coffins without polluting elements and 40% for biodegradable urns.

Similarly, the "Poppy Garden," which began operation a year ago, has also been one of the demanded services at the Les Pruelles cemetery in Sitges. This landscaped space allows for the placement of hundreds of porcelain poppies, each identified with the name of the deceased, under which ashes are buried in a biodegradable urn. This initiative, simulating a field of poppies as a memorial, is pioneering and unique in our country. Additionally, this cemetery also introduced the "Family Rain Urns," made of bronze, innovative columbaria designed as family graves where ashes dissolve with the action of rainwater.

According to Joan Ventura, director of Cemeteries at Àltima, “The positive reception of initiatives like these for ecological ash management highlights the growing importance of cremation in funeral services.” According to data provided by Àltima, cremation maintains an annual increase of nearly 9.4% in Catalonia. However, the company achieved a higher growth rate in 2017, with an increase of 10.55%. Regarding the demand for cremation services in the province of Barcelona, Àltima places this trend at 48.28%, above the overall Catalan average (43.73%) and the Spanish average (38.43%). It is expected that this trend will continue to grow progressively over the next decade and stabilize around 60% in the main population centers of Catalonia.

With over 10 years of experience implementing innovative and pioneering environmentally sustainable funeral services, they have established themselves as a reference and opened a new line of activity to transfer their knowledge to other cemeteries. The Àltima team, consisting of architects and environmental specialists, advises various municipalities on managing spaces for ashes, providing solutions adapted to each environment.