Stop spreading ashes on idyllic Bridge of Flowers, Massachusetts club says. Here’s why

A picturesque former trolley bridge so draped in blooms it’s called the Bridge of Flowers might seem like an ideal resting place for the cremated remains of pets or loved ones.

But the women’s club that oversees the idyllic bridge in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, has a simple request: Don’t.

“While it might be a beautiful location for a loved one, the ashes are actually killing the plants,” a message on the bridge’s Facebook page reads.

“Ashes are very alkaline and contain salts which kill the leaves first and then the roots,” the post warns. “Ashes have no place in a garden.”

The bridge, built in 1908, once served trolleys before being turned into a pedestrian walkway lined by trees and flowers, which also hang over the sides.

The Bridge of Flowers, which reopened in 1929, sees thousands of visitors each year, WBZ reported.

But the desire to use it as a final resting place has become a growing problem.

Nydia Nowak Gallagher, a mortuary sciences expert, told WWLP that human or animal ashes are not biodegradable.

“Putting them on the flower beds can be toxic to the plant,” she said. “Cremated remains, they sit on the surface of the soil and they don’t degrade.”

Carol Angus, co-chair of the Bridge of Flowers Committee, told MassLive that the practice also puts workers at risk.

“It’s not healthy,” Angus said. “The gardeners and volunteers are then exposed to the human ashes, and the human remains do not remain untouched.”

Shelburne Falls is in western Massachusetts, about 130 miles west of Boston.

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