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Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger launched one of his last significant endeavors. Famed for creating self-destructive creations, Metzger had spent a lifetime to responding to societal issues from peace activism to ethical eating. In a brief video message, he issued a call for a international event to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your participation in this international summons for a day of action to reflect on the environment on 4 November 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives to oppose the continuing disappearance of flora and fauna. “Our task is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter realms that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, remembers his sense of urgency. “There was a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. We should proceed.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the initiative may not have incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be felt in campaigns like artist-led declarations and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is reviving it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Part of the key participants involved this time are A Man Called Adam and Anya Gallaccio. All participants have produced imagery, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be revealed on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

Interviewing the artist, she is working outdoors in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will create a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and part learning experience. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already involved learning about mathematics (calculating the distances between trees), science (discussing the hereditary traits), and history (tracing the journeys of how different apples arrived in Britain).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that releases scarcolored sap

“Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” she explains. “We have one apple that produces red juice. Each has histories attached. The ancient variety was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and struck the physicist’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more thoughtfully connected of nature and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was prompting them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see what they’re called and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Nationwide

In London, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will engage visitors exploring an art institution on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be drawn on the exhibition spaces using invisible ink. Whenever one is found, a bell will ring and a reading will be held to honor that individual formation.

Elsewhere, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be presenting a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a shared meal, prepared with regional food. In another city, an artist is broadcasting her musical project, in which regional performers undertake a task to sing plants back to health in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be engaging schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to cover a cultural venue in children’s artwork that capture their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and perhaps it can provoke a feeling of duty from each person. Youth is pure. They have fears about the future. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then embodying them – and for the event he is intending to address an iconic figure. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his ongoing series over the last two decades. The project commenced following he experienced three incidents of homophobic abuse on a particular day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since expanded to incorporate experiences shared by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its name derives 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 new locations and also replant flowers in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the incidents and his memories of them. “We’ve seen quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and