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Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final important works. Known for introducing self-destructive creations, Metzger had dedicated his life to responding to global challenges from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. Through a short video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to remember nature.

“I call upon you for your involvement in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, urging cultural workers to stand against the continuing disappearance of flora and fauna. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter realms that are inherently creative.”

The Creation of Remember Nature

And so the environmental art day was born, a day when artists across the country created responses to the unfolding climate catastrophe. Jo Joelson, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, notes his sense of urgency. “He had a great sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the project did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but organizers feel its legacy can still be felt in campaigns like cultural advocacy groups and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the environmental impact of their work. That’s why she is relaunching it to commemorate its decade milestone. Among the key participants taking part currently are Yu-Chen Wang and Anya Gallaccio. Each has created visual art, made video appeals, and created artworks set to be presented on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

When speaking to one participant, she is on site in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already involved learning about mathematics (measuring out the gaps in the orchard), genetics (exploring the genetic makeup), and origins (tracing the journeys of how various cultivars came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces crimson liquid

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid. Each has background narratives. The decio apple was imported by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that descended from a tree and landed on the scientist’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the control we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was urging them, on their next shopping trip, to look on the bag and see their names and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Nationwide

At the capital, one artist’s work about extinction will engage visitors looking through an art institution on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been vanished in modern times. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. Each discovery, a alert will occur and a recitation will be held to commemorate that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in another location, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a communal feast, prepared with organic, local produce. In another city, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which community vocalists begin a project to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to cover a cultural venue in kids’ letters and drawings that express their hopes and fears for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are impactful because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her recorded message. “What children have to offer to the world is something quite unique and perhaps it can provoke a feeling of duty from each person. Children are innocent. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about worry – it should be about optimism and us ensuring that they get a future.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is aiming to address an iconic figure. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the last two decades. This endeavor commenced following he endured multiple occurrences of discrimination on a single day. In response, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since expanded to cover events reported by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “It seems pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the direct association – it has long been a slur – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also replant flowers in places he has previously memorialised, all the while conversing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says sadly.

Advancing Positively

Harfleet hopes his work – and