Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, the first conservation burial ground in the Piedmont, opened in 2022 on a picturesque piece of property on Hurdle Mills Road in Cedar Grove. Designed as a nature preserve honoring the Carolina Piedmont landscape, Bluestem offers 3.5 miles of hiking trails, quiet areas for reflection, and a unique conservation area for natural burial. Bluestem is devoted to "green burials," initially devoting 10 acres of burial land for the environmentally friendly process that does not involve embalming, vaults, or impervious containers. Individuals are returned to the earth simply and naturally, using only biodegradable products, such as wood caskets or cloth shrouds. Cremains are also accepted.

Bluestem is open to all faiths and perspectives, both spiritual and cultural; where families and friends are invited to engage in the ritual of natural burial, and all can experience the sacred in nature.  Every element of the nature preserve and cemetery is designed with the tenets of simplicity, utility, inclusivity and integrity. Individuals have the choice of selecting their burial plot among reserved areas for burial. Burial options are offered in restored native grasslands and native Piedmont woods. 

Bluestem's conservation restoration program provides opportunities for family and friends to memorialize their loved ones with select native plantings, or with a financial contribution to further conservation efforts in the region. Management of the cemetery incorporates conservation practices such as prescribed fire, recreating native Southeast grasslands, protecting water sources with stream buffers, and providing connected lands for wildlife.

Bluestem is a signature program of the nonprofit Bluestem Community. Co-founders, Jeff Masten and Heidi Hannapel, placed the property under a conservation easement to be held by Eno River Association and Triangle Land Conservancy.