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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger initiated one of his last major projects. Recognized for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting human struggles from peace activism to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he issued a call for a global day of action to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives to oppose the ongoing loss of living beings. “Our responsibility is to make audiences aware of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Creation of Remember Nature

Thus Remember Nature was established, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the ongoing environmental crisis. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, recalls his feeling of immediacy. “There was a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I urged him – we must act now. Let’s not wait for sponsorship or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, the project did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but organizers feel its legacy can still be observed in movements like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how creatives consider the environmental impact of their practices. This is the reason she is reviving it to mark its ten-year mark. Included in the featured creators participating now are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. They have all created visual art, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing the artist, she is on site in Kent, helping plant apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and part learning experience. She describes, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about maths (measuring out the distances between trees), biology (discussing the genetic makeup), and geography (researching the backgrounds of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces scarcolored sap

“A lot of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries histories attached. The historical cultivar was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that descended from a tree and struck the physicist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more consciously engaged of the environment and the power we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was urging them, next time they were out, to check the packaging and see their names and their origin. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Artistic Responses Across the Country

In London, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will include attendees looking through Tate Modern on a quest to find the seven major glaciers that have been lost in recent years. Each glacier will be illustrated on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. When located, a bell will ring and a performance will be held to honor that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in a northern town, an artist will be hosting a public show about our separation from nature, as well as holding a shared meal, made using regional food. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is sharing her musical project, in which local singers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in kids’ letters and drawings that express their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can inspire a awareness of obligation from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they have a tomorrow.”

Remembrance and Reflection

A participant’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to tackle an iconic figure. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his long-term work over the past twenty years. The project started after he endured three incidents of homophobic abuse on a single day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the spot where it happened and record it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

Harfleet chose the flower not just for the direct association – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the walking tour about the events and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and