FOR WETLANDS
Beloved Wetlands, your marshes, swamps, bogs, fens and meandering waterways orchestrate a delicate dance with the elements.
Wetlands Gratitude Ceremony
This is a coordinated prayer that you offer in your own landscape (not an online event).
O.N.E. and For A Tree coordinate this ceremony for people and Nature around the world, so that each gratitude ceremony, like yours, is one of many bright shining lights on Earth.
So that all the ceremonies can shine together, we have created a printable instruction sheet to provide guidance and the framework for you to bring your creativity and open heart.
You are invited to let us know you are participating and to share your Wetlands love notes and stories through the “Let us know you’re participating” button.
Reciprocity is a cornerstone in good relationships with our Nature kin, and expressing gratitude is vital to building Co-Creative Partnership with our landscapes. Preparing for this ceremony and expressing your gratitude will help build a deeper relationship and understanding between you and the Wetlands you belong to.
We encourage you to express your gratitude for the Wetlands where you live, adding your Heart and energy to a vibrant future for Earth and all life. Investigate and explore if you don’t know where wetlands are near you.
Printable Ceremony Instructions
The Wetlands Gratitude Ceremony
Printable Ceremony Instructions
In the universal spirit of ritual and remembrance…
Set your intention and put into motion these simple, sacred actions.
GATHER
A cloth to define your altar space.
Offerings: small water bowl, flowers, and dried herbs for smoke purification.
Water you may have gathered from a sacred source.
Any offerings of your choice.
CREATE
Locate a wetland for your gratitude ceremony: Marshes, bogs,
ponds (less than 6’ deep), peatlands, sloughs, muskegs, bogs, fens, potholes, and mires.
Lovingly assemble your altar and offerings, including the small bowl of water.
Burn the herbs, and cleanse yourself, the altar, and the offerings with the smoke.
STATE YOUR INTENTION
Standing or sitting in front of your altar,
express your gratitude for all the beloved wetlands sustaining life on Mother Earth
ENTER SACRED SPACE
Give thanks to the ancestors of the land (plant, animal, fungal, elemental, and human).
Breathe, hum, rattle, sing, ring a bell, light a candle or incense.
OFFER YOUR BLESSING
Place your hands on the Earth. Breathe deeply into your heart center and when you exhale.
With love and gratitude, stand with your offering bowl of water
as you offer your blessing (repeat 3 times)
GRATITUDE FOR WETLANDS
Beloved Wetlands, you are a sanctuary of Mother Earth,
and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you.
From gardens to oceans, you sustain life.
Your marshes, swamps, bogs, fens and meandering waterways
orchestrate a delicate dance with the elements.
You are a vital source of purification, biodiversity and a haven for countless species.
You harbor the unnoticed, housing a rich tapestry of aquatic life, diverse flora,
and a symphony of birdsong, croaking frogs, and buzzing insects.
I thank you for your vital contributions to the web of life.
May you be cherished, protected, and restored.
May your waters, plants, trees, soils, and creatures be kept pristine and nourished.
May all humanity around our living Earth recognize you,
offer hope, and act together to bring you back to life.
I offer you my profound love and gratitude.
CLOSE
Pour the water that now carries your offerings and the vibration of your words of blessing, onto your wetland.
Offer your own words of gratitude for the magnificent wetlands sustaining all life.
