Paper short abstract:

Using empirical research findings, this paper explores the past & current use of wetlands for memorial practices. Repositioned within our cultural imaginings as important social conduits, rivers connect humans with the landscape & with each other, to enable reflections on deep time & human finitude.

Paper long abstract:

Wetlands have long been regarded as liminal spaces; where earth, sky and water meet in fluid states of materiality. Humans that utilise wetlands for sustenance, recreation, ceremony or retreat are likewise viewed as similarly hybrid and transboundary. Utilising empirical data drawn from a recent research project, 'WetlandLIFE', this paper explores how contemporary uses of wetland river spaces draw upon this concept of liminality, particularly around performances of remembrance. Drawing upon data gathered at three English case study sites this paper outlines the differing ways that humans throughout history collectively mark time and passing in these river corridors. Neolithic sweet tracks abut riverside benches with memorial plaques; commemorative planting of arboreal copses stand above streams where twinkling diyas float downstream on holy days; turf labyrinths share eyelines with riparian bird hides dedicated to past ornithologists; poetry returns us to remembered lives and imagined waterscapes. Making use of the different remembrance narratives of the research participants, we explore the ways in which these saturated spaces generate embodied responses of inclusion, through which the respondents detail their immersion into the landscape, becoming intimately connected to their surroundings. These memorial practises can be highly mobile physical engagements with river spaces which involve digging, painting, walking, photographing, crafting - and can be more contemplative; sitting, reflecting, encountering, accepting. Connecting humans across time and space, rivers can be repositioned within our cultural imaginings as important social conduits, spaces where humans can connect with the landscape, and each other, to reflect on deep time and human finitude.