Startup Spotlight: “Beyond Forests” Would Preserve Woodlands And Change The Way We Grieve

This month the Leelanau Ticker shines a light on entrepreneurial leaps of faith in the county. Meet Elmwood Township resident Jamie Kramer, who wants to change how people view death and process grief while also supporting conservation. She wants to give families who choose cremation a protected natural area to visit their loved one whenever their heart feels called. She calls it Beyond Forests. 

The former TV host and radio personality says she has always had a passion for the natural world, most recently planting trees to help combat climate change. The Mesick native started volunteering with Archangel Ancient Tree Archive and led a project to plant trees at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

Kramer’s passion for land conservation led her to pursue an idea that’s become a calling.

The next step is acquiring land for a memorial forest in Leelanau County. There, people could opt to spread ashes of their loved ones or pets under a tree, by a stream, or in a field of wildflowers.

“There’s a way we can speak without words, and I feel like the natural world is the best place to do that,” she says. “I want nothing more than my grandchildren to experience the thrill of climbing to the highest branch on a tree that they associate with me. What we have to do is shift that conversation with our loved ones and this will give them a place to do that.”

Her idea recently won second place at TC New Tech. She also won a grant as a Good Idea Winner through Fulfillament, a storytelling event featuring community leaders and entrepreneurs who share their journey towards fulfillment.    

“What was really important for me is that I wanted to do something as opposed to talk about it anymore,” she says.

Kramer attended her first funeral at the age of 5 and remembers the formality of it all feeling awkward and strange. Later in life, a few years after her grandfather’s passing, she recalls hiking in the woods and having a chickadee – his favorite bird – land on her shoulder. To her, it was a sign from grandpa. “It just felt like ‘oh, there you are,’” she says.    

Her dream is at least a 30-acre parcel that’s accessible with a healthy forest and open spaces with mature trees. Bonus: A stream or water feature. “I’m interested in partnering with them if they have land that they would like to conserve,” she says. “Sometimes families already have ashes on the property that have been on the property for a really long time.”

But why Leelanau?

The mom of two has resided in Elmwood Township for the last 10 years. She is passionate about her home and plans to run for county commissioner in District 1 in the next election. She adds, “Leelanau is everything worth saving in northern Michigan. Roaring lakeshore, glacial hills, bumbling creeks, towering trees, the smell of lilacs...all of it. That sense of place, of wonder, the connection to earth and the “other,” it’s a legacy that everyone deserves.”

Kramer looked into partnering with local conservancies or making Beyond Forests a nonprofit, but those ideas didn’t pan out. She is seeking angel investors or landowners to partner with to make her idea a reality.

If a landowner does step forward, the memorial forest would be named after that family. There are also tax benefits to putting land in a conservation easement. “It would remain forest land and it wouldn’t be developed,” Kramer says.

Kramer has consulted with a lawyer, SCORE mentors, and done a TC New Tech talk. She also has industry trends to back up the idea. Traditions around funerals and burials are changing. The idea of memorial forests is spreading in other states and is also popular in Europe. An estimated 73 percent of consumers will choose cremation by 2030, according to stats from the Cremation Association of North America. 

The cost of an average funeral and burial in America is about $10,000. Some families cannot afford a traditional burial, especially if it’s unexpected.

For others, a formal service and hometown cemetery isn’t reflective of their life, Kramer says.

“They want lower costs options that represent them and their life,” Kramer says. “That, for me, is what these new options look like for this new generation of people.”

She notes that ashes are often spread illegally on public land, buried in a cemetery or on family land that gets sold, or left forgotten in garages and storage units.

“That’s why I am so passionate about this,” Kramer says. “It gives people a place of their choosing to place the remains.”

Kramer also wants to honor and recognize the various needs of the people during the grief process. Some families want a more free-flowing service that’s less traditional and stuffy. In the face of COVID, smaller, outdoor gatherings are becoming more popular.

“That’s a huge part of this, giving people a chance to allow their families to grieve better,” Kramer says. “It’s healthy for you to grieve and how I am trying to do that is really holding a space for that to happen.”

Traverse City resident Madeline Begley became instant friends with Kramer several years ago. Kramer was by her side after the unexpected death of Begley’s 16-year-old brother and more recently her father.

“I don’t know what I would have done without her,” Begley says. “We’ve had all these talks about life and death. To be able to have the conversations with someone and not feel judged, it’s not a topic you can easily openly share with anyone.”

Kramer wants to offer other services, including celebration of life and outdoor memorial services. She envisions memorial benches and walking paths to enjoy. Eventually, she would like to add grief support and nature therapy programs.

“The big goal for me is really allowing individuals to get a little bit more comfortable with death and continue a relationship with our loved ones after they are gone,” she says.