Cemetery Dash 2020
It's fall! It's October! It's time for the 2020 Cemetery Dash!!
To get things going this year, here's 5 easy things you can do to help protect a local cemetery near you:
1) Take a walk through the site.
It really can be that simple! We always like to remind folks that a visited cemetery is a safer cemetery. So pick a site and take a walk. Take some photos and share them with others. Google the site to see if you can learn a little more about it.
2) Make sure the site is listed on the Florida Master Site File.
The best way to ensure a cemetery is still around in 100 years is to make sure it's listed on the State's inventory of historic resources - the Florida Master Site File. You can contact the Site File staff - or anyone at your local FPAN office - to inquire if your site is listed. If it's not, we can help you fill out the form to get it on the list! Check out our blog post for more info and resources.
3) Monitor the site through HMS Florida.
Just as people need a check up every year, so do historic cemeteries. You can become a Heritage Monitoring Scout and help us monitor cemeteries across the state. Monitoring is as easy as answering a few questions about site condition and threats, and taking a few photos. Check out our interactive cemetery map to find a site near you -- and create your Arches account to log your visits.
4) Help out.
Join in with a local cemetery clean up - or help organize one yourself! A cemetery clean up can be as simple as picking up trash and the stray tree limb. Or you can pull out the rakes, D2 and brushes. We recommend taking our Cemetery Resource Protection Training (CRPT) Workshop to get more information about best practices in cemetery preservation and management. Our next workshop in the Northeast Region is scheduled for Oct 31 in Fernandina Beach. You can also join the CRPT Alliance facebook page to share or find work days near you.
And for our current CRPT Alumni - don't forget about our Alumni Support Program, offering free cleaning kits to help jump start your next work day! Applications are due November 1.
5) Join up.
There are quite a few local organizations that work in historic cemeteries. We have the Florida Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies which holds events and tours at cemeteries across the state (including a Cemetery Book Club on Oct 27!). You can also check out one of the local Friends groups, like the Friends of Bosque Bello Cemetery in Fernandina Beach, the Tolomato Cemetery Preservation Association in St. Augustine, or the Central Florida Cemetery Project in Volusia/Seminole Counties.
Words and images by Emily Jane Murray, FPAN staff.
1) Take a walk through the site.
It really can be that simple! We always like to remind folks that a visited cemetery is a safer cemetery. So pick a site and take a walk. Take some photos and share them with others. Google the site to see if you can learn a little more about it.
 |
| Show your local historic cemetery some love just be showing up! |
2) Make sure the site is listed on the Florida Master Site File.
The best way to ensure a cemetery is still around in 100 years is to make sure it's listed on the State's inventory of historic resources - the Florida Master Site File. You can contact the Site File staff - or anyone at your local FPAN office - to inquire if your site is listed. If it's not, we can help you fill out the form to get it on the list! Check out our blog post for more info and resources.
3) Monitor the site through HMS Florida.
Just as people need a check up every year, so do historic cemeteries. You can become a Heritage Monitoring Scout and help us monitor cemeteries across the state. Monitoring is as easy as answering a few questions about site condition and threats, and taking a few photos. Check out our interactive cemetery map to find a site near you -- and create your Arches account to log your visits.
 |
| Online Arches portal for monitoring sites via HMS Florida. |
Join in with a local cemetery clean up - or help organize one yourself! A cemetery clean up can be as simple as picking up trash and the stray tree limb. Or you can pull out the rakes, D2 and brushes. We recommend taking our Cemetery Resource Protection Training (CRPT) Workshop to get more information about best practices in cemetery preservation and management. Our next workshop in the Northeast Region is scheduled for Oct 31 in Fernandina Beach. You can also join the CRPT Alliance facebook page to share or find work days near you.
And for our current CRPT Alumni - don't forget about our Alumni Support Program, offering free cleaning kits to help jump start your next work day! Applications are due November 1.
 |
 |
| Stewards learn how to clean stones using D2 at a CRPT Workshop. |
5) Join up.
There are quite a few local organizations that work in historic cemeteries. We have the Florida Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies which holds events and tours at cemeteries across the state (including a Cemetery Book Club on Oct 27!). You can also check out one of the local Friends groups, like the Friends of Bosque Bello Cemetery in Fernandina Beach, the Tolomato Cemetery Preservation Association in St. Augustine, or the Central Florida Cemetery Project in Volusia/Seminole Counties.
Words and images by Emily Jane Murray, FPAN staff.