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In 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his last significant endeavors. Famed for creating self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting societal issues from nuclear disarmament to vegetarianism. In a brief video message, he issued a call for a international event to honor the environment.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, inviting cultural workers to stand against the continuing disappearance of species. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are inherently creative.”

The Creation of Remember Nature

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when artists across the country developed works to the ongoing environmental crisis. Jo Joelson, who cared for Metzger in his last days, recalls his sense of urgency. “He had a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. We should proceed.”

A Decade Later

A decade on, the initiative may not have sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but organizers feel its legacy can still be felt in campaigns like Culture Declares and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their work. That’s why she is relaunching it to commemorate its 10-year anniversary. Among the featured creators taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. All participants have created visual art, shared messages, and produced installations set to be unveiled on November 4, 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is working outdoors in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will create a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and somewhat instructive. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about mathematics (calculating the distances between trees), genetics (studying the hereditary traits), and history (tracing the journeys of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

Several the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that releases crimson liquid

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that dropped off a tree and struck the scientist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of nature and the influence we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, when they go shopping, to look on the bag and see the variety and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Artistic Responses Across the Country

Within the city, a participant’s project on disappearance will include attendees searching Tate Modern on a mission to find the ice masses that have been disappeared in the past decade. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. Whenever one is found, a bell will ring and a recitation will be conducted to commemorate that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be putting on a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as organizing a shared meal, made using regional food. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is sharing her musical project, in which regional performers undertake a task to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Children’s Voices

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to fill an art space in kids’ letters and drawings that express their dreams and worries for the tomorrow. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and perhaps it can stimulate a awareness of obligation from each person. Children are innocent. They have anxieties about what’s next. But this shouldn’t be about worry – it should be about positivity and our responsibility that they get a future.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for the initiative 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 long-term work over the past twenty years. This endeavor started after he faced multiple occurrences of discrimination on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the location of every incident and document it – the project has since grown to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The intention on the event day is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also replant flowers in places he has marked earlier, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his recollections. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and