The first of its kind in the world, the Neptune Memorial Reef ™ is situated 3.25 miles east of Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, and 40 feet under the sea, at GPS coordinates:
N25º 42.036′
W80º 05.409′
The reef is certified by the Green Burial Council as an alternative to burial which is ecologically friendly.
Designed to be constructed in phases, the first two construction phases of the reef saw 76 columns being constructed over an area of the ocean bed covering half an acre. When complete it is expected that there will be around 5000 columns over an area covering 16 acres.
Every individual part of the reef is engineered by a marine biologist ensuring that every texture, profile, depth and angle is created to support the ecosystem. It is indeed an awesome achievement that the reef, having now attracted 14 different species of reef-building coral it can be officially classified as a coral reef.
The concept behind the reef design was a futuristic lost city of Atlantis that whilst being a reef would also be an art piece and it’s fair to say that aim has been achieved.
The Neptune Memorial Reef™ is constructed in such a way that road pieces meet at a centrepiece, it is designed to accommodate future placement of features mixed with cremated remains. The top of each of the columns weighs 250 lbs and is designed with a pin in place which can be removed to enable access to the centre of the column for the placement of ashes.
A bench – created as a fish habitat – sits around the centrepiece, the cover of which is removable for “deployments” (placing of ashes). The road podiums all contain portals for the ease of deployments. Memorial plaques are affixed to the outside of these features.
Many families choose free-standing memorial pieces in the shape of marine life such as starfish, stingrays, dolphins, octopus or shells. Marine placements are permanently fixed in place. When it is complete it is expected that the Neptune Memorial Reef™ will include more than 250,000 memorials.
The reef is open to all to visit and it is a place many families find great comfort from visiting the final resting place of their loved ones in such beautiful surroundings. For more information about this exceptional place please click here.
Video credit: www.nmreef.com
Images credit: www.nmreef.com