Way To Go is a dedicated group of individuals who are enthusiastic about opening up conversations and learning more about death, dying, and grief. We strive to make death truly a part of life in our community. As we share, learn, educate and provide additional options in our community, our comfort with death grows. This enables us to live more vibrantly and with greater intention today.

Community-Led DeathCare is a group of volunteers who are ready, even on short notice, to provide practical and emotional support to those approaching or navigating death. In the past, communities cared for their own at death, simply & naturally. Death was a part of life, and death care was shared by friends and neighbours. We are your friends and neighbours, knowledgeable, willing and able to lend helping hands. Link to Community-Led Deathcare for more information.

Natural Burial – there is a section on the south side of the Quadra island Cemetery on Heriot Bay Road designated for natural (green) burials. As simply and naturally as possible, the body is returned to the earth, and the earth returned to nature. The non-embalmed body is clothed or wrapped in biodegradable material and placed in a locally sourced biodegradable box. The area above the grave is marked with a biodegradable marker, and the surface covered with vegetative materials and small native plants. Those buried in this section, rather than having an individual tombstone, are commemorated in a communal memorialization structure (which has yet to be built). The Quadra Island Cemetery Society volunteers manage the burials. Call Grant Hayden (250) 285-2841 or Vic Gladish (250) 285-2111 to arrange a burial or prepay for a plot.

Articles in Discovery Islander – Each issue of the Discovery Islander contains an article about death, dying, or grief written by a community member.

For a list of past articles, select the “Discovery Islander Articles” category in the list to the right.

Way To Go Guide – After meeting for four years, one of our members put together a duo-tang of the educational topics to date. A paper copy can be purchased at Inspirations on Quadra for $5 or the pdf version is free (now in 3rd edition).