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During 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final major projects. Known for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had dedicated his life to confronting societal issues from nuclear disarmament to ethical eating. In a brief video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“I call upon you for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on 4 November 2015,” he announced, urging makers and thinkers to stand against the steady eradication of species. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Environmental Reflection

And so Remember Nature was born, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. Jo Joelson, who cared for Metzger in his last days, recalls his sense of urgency. “I sensed a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for financial support or for anyone to green light this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

Ten years later, the initiative may not have triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its influence can still be felt in movements like artist-led declarations and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the sustainability of their work. For this purpose she is relaunching it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Included in the 18 lead artists involved this time are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. Each has created visual art, recorded calls to action, and created artworks set to be presented on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

In conversation with the artist, she is out in a field in Kent, helping plant apple trees that will grow to form a spiral-shaped orchard. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. She describes, the design and cultivation sessions have already incorporated learning about maths (calculating the distances between trees), biology (exploring the genetic makeup), and history (mapping the journeys of how various cultivars arrived in Britain).

Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that releases red juice

“Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The historical cultivar was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that dropped off a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to look on the bag and see the variety and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Throughout Britain

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will involve participants exploring a major gallery on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in the past decade. Each glacier will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using ultraviolet markers. When located, a alert will occur and a recitation will be conducted to commemorate that individual formation.

At the same time, up in another location, Maddi Nicholson will be presenting a free exhibition about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a shared meal, made using sustainable ingredients. Further north, an artist is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers begin a project to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Young Insights

Following this approach, a featured creator will be engaging schoolchildren – on the actual event she is aiming to cover a cultural venue in kids’ letters and drawings that capture their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as restricted as grown-ups’,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and hopefully it will inspire a feeling of duty from everyone. Children are innocent. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about optimism and our responsibility that they get a future.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his feathered initiative involves drawing birds and then embodying them – and for the initiative he is intending to represent an iconic figure. He is also organizing a guided walk of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. This endeavor began when he endured three incidents of prejudice on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the location of every incident and photograph it – the project has since spiralled to include incidents experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently birds consume them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the obvious reason – 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 contemplative, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The plan on Remember Nature day is to place blooms at additional sites and also replant flowers in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the itinerant journey about the events and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says mournfully.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and