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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final major projects. Recognized for introducing self-destructive creations, Metzger had dedicated his life to responding to human struggles from peace activism to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he requested support for a international event to celebrate the natural world.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he announced, encouraging artists and creatives to resist the steady eradication of species. “Our responsibility is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

Thus the environmental art day was born, a day when artists across the country created responses to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for financial support or for anyone to authorize this. We should proceed.”

A Decade Later

Ten years later, the initiative did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its legacy can still be seen in campaigns like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their work. This is the reason she is restaging it to mark its decade milestone. Included in the featured creators taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and prominent artists. All participants have designed posters, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be presented on November 4, 2025.

Planting Hope

Interviewing the artist, she is on site in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will create a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about maths (calculating the distances between trees), biology (exploring the hereditary traits), and origins (tracing the journeys of how different apples arrived in Britain).

Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces crimson liquid

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries stories behind them. The decio apple was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that descended from a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was prompting them, when they go shopping, to look on the bag and see the variety and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

At the capital, one artist’s Book of Loss will include attendees exploring Tate Modern on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been lost in modern times. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. Whenever one is found, a chime will sound and a reading will be conducted to remember that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in a northern town, a creative will be hosting a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a shared meal, prepared with regional food. In another city, a participant is streaming her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers undertake a task to sing plants back to health in a local park.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, another participant will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is planning to cover a cultural venue in youth creations that capture their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Children’s words and images are powerful 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 stimulate a sense of responsibility from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But let’s not make it about anxiety – it should be about optimism and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the initiative he is aiming to tackle a local symbol. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his long-term work over the recent decades. That ongoing series began when he faced multiple occurrences of discrimination on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence 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 are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

He picked the pansy 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 bad quality,” he says.

The intention on Remember Nature day is to place blooms at additional sites and also replant flowers 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 following earlier installations,” he says sadly.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and