The Healing Journey

May 7, 2025

St. Mary/Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich is recognized as one of the most beautiful natural settings in town, with 80 acres on rolling hills with woods and wetlands, and a peaceful bucolic landscape that attracts runners, arborists, birdwatchers, historical tours and, of course, those who come to visit their loved ones who have died.

The cemetery, which has served the surrounding communities, including Westchester, for more than a century was recently accredited as a Level II Arboretum by the ArbNet Arboretum Program and the Morton Arboretum for achieving the professional standards essential for arboreta and botanic gardens, according to James Tomlinson, Director of Administration for Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Tomlinson said the initiative, which was conceived in 2020, began in earnest in January 2022, when Dean Gestal, Executive Director of Catholic Cemeteries, met with representatives of the accreditation organization and set about cataloguing trees on the 80 acres in an effort to achieve the standards needed to be classified as a Level II arboretum.

“To get to Level II, you had to have 100 species, and we had close to that when we started the project,” Tomlinson said. Currently, St. Mary/Putnam, which has close to 145 notable trees on its property and more than 1000 trees in total, will be recognized in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants.

“This was a very important project for us,” he said. “We wanted to do something positive for the community. We just don’t want to be known as a cemetery. These 80 acres are a tranquil place, and we encourage people to visit — not only those whose loved ones have passed away, but also joggers, walkers, nature lovers, birdwatchers and anyone who can appreciate the beautiful and peaceful environment.”

St. Mary/Putnam Cemetery is open to the public from dusk to dawn, he said. “I’ve seen so many people walking together, running, having conversations and enjoying the tranquility. It is a place where you know people have faced loss, but it is also a place for everyone to enjoy the natural beauty, and one of the most gorgeous sites in Greenwich.”

At St. Mary/Putnam Cemetery, located at 399 North Street, more than 50,000 Catholics and non-Catholics are buried on the grounds, and there are approximately 20,000 headstones.

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