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During 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his last important works. Recognized for pioneering auto-destructive art, Metzger had dedicated his life to responding to global challenges from nuclear disarmament to ethical eating. Via a concise video message, he made a plea for a worldwide initiative to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, urging makers and thinkers to oppose the steady eradication of species. “Our responsibility is to make audiences aware of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into realms that are naturally imaginative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when artists across the country developed works to the unfolding climate catastrophe. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his sense of urgency. “I sensed a strong sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for sponsorship or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

After Ten Years

A decade on, Remember Nature hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but Joelson believes its legacy can still be felt in initiatives like cultural advocacy groups and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how creatives consider the sustainability of their practices. For this purpose she is reviving it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Included in the key participants participating now are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. They have all produced imagery, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be unveiled on November 4, 2025.

Planting Hope

In conversation with the artist, she is working outdoors in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and part learning experience. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about maths (spacing the planting intervals), biology (exploring the hereditary traits), and geography (researching the backgrounds of how various cultivars were introduced to England).

A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that releases red juice

“A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. They all have histories attached. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that dropped off a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more actively aware of the natural world and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was urging them, when they go shopping, to read the label and see what they’re called and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Throughout Britain

At the capital, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will involve participants looking through Tate Modern on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in recent years. Each glacier will be drawn on the museum surfaces using ultraviolet markers. When located, a chime will sound and a reading will be performed to commemorate that specific ice mass.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be presenting a open display about our separation from nature, as well as organizing a community dinner, cooked from regional food. Further north, an artist is sharing her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers begin a project to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Youth Perspectives

Following this approach, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that capture their dreams and worries for the future. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as restricted as mature perspectives,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can stimulate a awareness of obligation from each person. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But let’s not make it about anxiety – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his Birds Can Fly involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to represent an iconic figure. He is also organizing a itinerant journey of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. This endeavor began when he experienced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a particular day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and record it – the project has since grown to include incidents experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

Harfleet chose the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a slur – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The project on 4 November is to sow flowers at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while conversing with those on the walking tour about the incidents and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and