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Back in 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his final significant endeavors. Famed for creating art that erases itself, Metzger had dedicated his life to addressing human struggles from peace activism to plant-based living. In a brief video message, he issued a call for a international event to celebrate the natural world.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your involvement in this global appeal for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting makers and thinkers to resist the continuing disappearance of flora and fauna. “Our responsibility is to make audiences aware of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are inherently creative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative came into being, a day when artists across the country developed works to the ongoing environmental crisis. Jo Joelson, who cared for Metzger in his later life, recalls his feeling of immediacy. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, the project did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but Joelson believes its influence can still be observed in movements like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how creatives consider the environmental impact of their methods. For this purpose she is relaunching it to mark its ten-year mark. Part of the 18 lead artists taking part currently are Yu-Chen Wang and prominent artists. They have all designed posters, shared messages, and produced installations set to be presented on 4 November 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing one participant, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and part learning experience. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already involved learning about measurements (measuring out the distances between trees), science (studying the genetic makeup), and origins (mapping the stories of how distinct varieties were introduced to England).

Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the other unusual varieties. 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,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid. Each has histories attached. The ancient variety was imported by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that fell from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more actively aware of nature and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was urging them, next time they were out, to read the label and see what they’re called and where they were grown. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Artistic Responses Across the Country

At the capital, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will engage visitors looking through Tate Modern on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in modern times. Each glacier will be drawn on the museum surfaces using special pens. When located, a bell will ring and a reading will be conducted to honor that individual formation.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be presenting a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a communal feast, made using regional food. In another city, a participant is streaming her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which community vocalists begin a project to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Youth Perspectives

Similar to other artists, a featured creator will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is aiming to fill Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that document their aspirations and concerns for the future. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and it may provoke a sense of responsibility from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have fears about the future. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about optimism and our responsibility that they have a tomorrow.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to address Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the past twenty years. The project commenced following he faced multiple occurrences of discrimination on a one occasion. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since spiralled to include incidents shared by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the direct association – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its origin is 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 intention on 4 November is to plant pansies at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the guided walk about the incidents and his memories of them. “We’ve seen quite a few following earlier installations,” he says sadly.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and