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Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger initiated one of his last major projects. Known for creating self-destructive creations, Metzger had spent a lifetime to responding to global challenges from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. Via a concise video message, he requested support for a global day of action to remember nature.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to reflect on the environment on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting artists and creatives to stand against the steady eradication of living beings. “The mission is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Remember Nature

And so the environmental art day was born, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the ongoing environmental crisis. An organizer, who supported Metzger in his last days, notes his sense of urgency. “He had a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

Ten years later, the project hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but Joelson believes its influence can still be seen in movements like cultural advocacy groups and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their methods. That’s why she is reviving it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Among the 18 lead artists involved this time are Cornelia Parker and prominent artists. All participants have created visual art, shared messages, and produced installations set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

In conversation with one participant, she is out in a field in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about mathematics (measuring out the gaps in the orchard), science (studying the apple’s DNA), and geography (tracing the stories of how different apples came to the UK).

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

“A lot of the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The decio apple was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that dropped off a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more actively aware of nature and the influence we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was prompting them, when they go shopping, to check the packaging and see the variety and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Throughout Britain

Within the city, a participant’s Book of Loss will include attendees searching Tate Modern on a quest to find the ice masses that have been disappeared in modern times. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the gallery’s windows and walls using special pens. When located, a chime will sound and a performance will be performed to honor that specific ice mass.

Meanwhile, up in another location, an artist will be presenting a public show about our separation from nature, as well as hosting a community dinner, made using sustainable ingredients. In another city, 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.

Young Insights

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is planning to cover a cultural venue in kids’ letters and drawings that document their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as trammelled as adults’,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and it may inspire a sense of responsibility from everyone. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But it isn’t meant to be about worry – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves sketching winged creatures and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is aiming to represent an iconic figure. He is also staging a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. The project began when he experienced multiple occurrences of prejudice on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the site of each occurrence and record it – the project has since spiralled to cover events experienced by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the obvious reason – 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 thoughtful, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” 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 discussing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

He desires his work – and