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During 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final major projects. Famed for creating art that erases itself, Metzger had dedicated his life to responding to global challenges from anti-nuclear advocacy to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he made a plea for a international event to celebrate the natural world.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to reflect on the environment on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives to stand against the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

In this way Remember Nature was born, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, remembers his sense of urgency. “He had a great sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – let’s not mess around. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

A Decade Later

A decade on, the initiative hasn’t quite triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but organizers feel its influence can still be seen 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 restaging it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Among the key participants involved this time are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. They have all designed posters, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be revealed on 4 November 2025.

Sowing Change

When speaking to the artist, she is on site in the countryside, cultivating apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and half educational workshop. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already incorporated learning about maths (calculating the distances between trees), science (discussing the genetic makeup), and origins (mapping the backgrounds of how various cultivars were introduced to England).

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

“A lot of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. Every one carries histories attached. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on the scientist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more actively aware of the environment and the control we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was prompting them, when they go shopping, to read the label and see what they’re called and their origin. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Across the Country

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will engage visitors exploring Tate Modern on a journey to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in the past decade. Each glacier will be depicted on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. Each discovery, a chime will sound and a recitation will be performed to remember that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be hosting a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a communal feast, cooked from organic, local produce. Over in Newcastle, a participant is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is planning to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in kids’ letters and drawings that capture their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her call to action video. “Young people’s input to the world is something quite unique and hopefully it will inspire a sense of responsibility from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But this shouldn’t be about worry – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they have a tomorrow.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle a local symbol. He is also organizing a itinerant journey of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his ongoing series over the last two decades. The project started after he endured multiple occurrences of prejudice on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since grown to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the flower not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a slur – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The plan on Remember Nature day is to plant pansies at fresh spots and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the occurrences and his recollections. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and