About Us
We’re all volunteers and nature lovers, motivated to preserve and protect Ontario’s natural landscape. We’d like, for ourselves and others, the opportunity for a gentle exit, and a final resting place in nature.
Our amazing volunteers
Susan Greer
Susan's the Executive Director of NBA. She first heard about natural burial on the radio. It was a lightbulb moment. Naively, she imagined one call to the planning department of Toronto would get a natural burial ground underway. Turns out it's not that easy! Like an obsession, she couldn't let the idea go, and now liaises with volunteers around the province, steering NBA to be the umbrella organization that tackles the systemic problems confronting the success of natural burial grounds in Ontario. Susan served on the board of the Green Burial Council (US) and is a member of the Conservation Burial Alliance.
Wendy Gray
Wendy Gray founded Gravity Inc, a design and communications agency doing work for lots of good clients and causes. In 2023, after 35 years, Wendy retired, but she continues to lend her skills to the community. Wendy has been, and continues to be, an integral member of the NBA team, and we’re so grateful for all the time she lends to make us look good.
Rebecca Clayborn
Rebecca is a professional singer whose experiences singing at funerals inspired her to become a hospice volunteer and a certified funeral celebrant, working with families to create meaningful ceremonies that acknowledge death and honour life. She sees natural burial as a practice that reconnects human beings with the web of life, creating healthier relationships with death, the earth, the broader-than-human world, and those who come after us.
Heather Sloman
Heather was an occupational therapist who has worked in hospitals and in the community with many palliative care patients. Her years of patient engagement and her concern for the future of our planet have combined into a desire to ensure that each of us has the opportunity, when we reach the end of our lives, to be buried in a manner which preserves an ancient and restorative ecological process.
Michelle (Mishi) Methven
Mishi is both a bereaved mother and former Funeral Director. She has a life-long passion for death care and has spoken at national conferences, participated in tv and radio interviews, and done webinars to help educate people around their choices pertaining to death, dying and bereavement. Mishi is grateful to have learned of the Natural Burial Association and is excited to bring her enthusiasm to this important organization.
Kristy Diesbourg
Kristy is happiest outdoors, and tries to live her life as naturally as possible. She homeschools and shares her love of nature with her children, especially within their seven acre Muskoka home, where they forage, photograph, and propagate only native trees. Everyone at NBA loves nature, but Kristy helps us deepen our appreciation by defining and providing insights into the flora and fauna.
Hayden Wilson
Hayden is a Field Biologist and the Land Stewardship Manager at Kawartha Land Trust. Through his work to conserve sensitive habitats he has seen the degradation of natural areas and wants to contribute to the growing movement of protecting our native species and spaces through environmentally responsible end of life options. As a volunteer with NBA, Hayden’s our scientific go-to, providing research into how natural burial can strengthen the local ecosystem.
Our founders
Michael de Pencier (1935 - 2024)
Michael was a titan in the publishing industry, and his company Key Publishing oversaw magazines such as Toronto Life, Canadian Business, Canadian Geographic, Gardening Life, Wedding Bells, Canadian Art, and Quill & Quire. In his mid-60's he sold Key Publishing so he could focus all his energy on his great passion, the environment and in particular, trees. MIchael's philanthropy, and his leadership in numerous business ventures and charities (InvestEco Capital, The Green Living Show, Trees for Life, and GrandTrees Climate Solutions), immeasurably enhanced our natural landscape. One of his initiatives, Highway of Heroes Tribute, resulted in planting over two million trees in honour of Canada's veterans. Michael was a member of the Order of Canada.
Mary Anne Brinckman (1935–2007)
Mary Anne Brinckman was an exceptionally knowledgeable and passionate environmentalist. An extraordinary practical result of her environmental mission was her creative role in establishing three green magazines: she was the co-founding editor of Owl and Chickadee, the co-founding editor of Toronto Life Gardens (subsequently Gardening Life) and the founding editor of Green Living magazine. Her belief in natural burial led to the formation of this Association.