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In 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his last important works. Recognized for pioneering art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to responding to human struggles from nuclear disarmament to ethical eating. Via a concise video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to celebrate the natural world.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, inviting artists and creatives to resist the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore domains that are inherently creative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

And so the environmental art day came into being, a day when creatives nationwide created responses to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. No need to pause for funding or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, the initiative may not have incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its legacy can still be seen in movements like artist-led declarations and environmental protests, as well as in how makers handle the sustainability of their work. That’s why she is reviving it to commemorate its 10-year anniversary. Among the key participants involved this time are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. Each has created visual art, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be presented on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Working 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 (measuring out the distances between trees), biology (studying the hereditary traits), and origins (researching the stories of how various cultivars came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ red juice

“Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. Every one carries background narratives. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that descended from a tree and landed on the physicist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more consciously engaged of the natural world and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was urging them, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see what they’re called and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

Within the city, one artist’s Book of Loss will engage visitors exploring a major gallery on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been lost in modern times. All formations will be depicted on the museum surfaces using special pens. Whenever one is found, a chime will sound and a recitation will be held to commemorate that particular glacier.

Elsewhere, up in a northern town, an artist will be hosting a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as organizing a community dinner, prepared with regional food. In another city, a participant is streaming her musical project, in which local singers begin a project to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Following this approach, another participant will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in children’s artwork that express their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Kids’ art are compelling because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her call to action video. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can provoke a feeling of duty from us all. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about worry – it should be about hope and our responsibility that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also connects with children. Drawing on past experience, his Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is aiming to tackle Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a itinerant journey of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. That ongoing series commenced following he experienced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the site of each occurrence and record it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences shared by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly birds consume them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom 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 fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has previously memorialised, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the events and his memories of them. “I’ve recorded quite a few following earlier installations,” he says sadly.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and