TerraCon 2025

This year I attended (in person) the second annual global conference dedicated to Human Composting, also known as Terramation and Natural Organic Reduction (NOR).

TerraCon 2025, held on February 4–5 at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center in Washington, was organized by Return Home, and brought together about 300 participants, including funeral professionals, environmental advocates, policymakers, and students from 11 mortuary schools, in person, and many more people attended online.

Return Home - facilitating camaraderie and sharing knowledge across the industry, the unstoppable Micah Truman and his marvelous team - were everywhere, ensuring everything ran smoothly and everyone had a brilliant experience.

It was truly inspirational! Speaker highlights included:

Religion - Monsignor Schallenberg came from Berlin, and explained the Catholic Church’s position, in support of human composting.

Science - Also from Germany, the leading soil scientist who also has a master’s degree in forestry and a degree in forensics Dr Marcus Schwarz who is currently working on a PhD thesis examining 100 NOR bodies; and Jean Bonhotal, head of soil science at Cornell University who did 1.2m chickens and a bear among other things; and the outstandingly generous John Paul who is the lead scientist at Return Home.

Legislative - efforts to legalize NOR across various US states. Notably, Taelor Johnson and Erik Halaas shared their experiences in legalizing NOR in Minnesota, providing insights into advocacy and implementation strategies.

Cultural & Emotional Perspectives - Death doulas perspectives and the AMAZING Kristoffer Hughes (look him up, this guy is a Welsh Scholar, Bard, Chief Druid and Coroner for 30 years - an amazing speaker).

Community Engagement: Interactive elements, such as a trade show space with stalls, treasure hunt, drinks, a NOR-themed "Hot Wings" panel and a Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary preview featuring the Return Home team.... socialising with all the amazing people and making new friends and contacts added a special touch to the conference. Even an 'After Party'!

TerraCon 2025 really underscored for me the growing interest in sustainable death care practices. Apparently there was a significant increase in participation compared to the previous year - reflecting a broader shift towards environmentally conscious end-of-life options. The conference served as a platform for knowledge exchange, legislative advocacy, and community building within the NOR movement.

While there I was able to meet and talk to (as well as hear from during formal sessions) staff from several operational Human Composting facilities and tour Return Home. And, I made some new friends.

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