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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last significant endeavors. Known for creating auto-destructive art, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing societal issues from nuclear disarmament to ethical eating. In a brief video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to honor the environment.

“I call upon you for your involvement in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on November 4th, 2015,” he announced, encouraging makers and thinkers to resist the steady eradication of species. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are inherently creative.”

The Creation of Environmental Reflection

In this way Remember Nature came into being, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the ongoing environmental crisis. Jo Joelson, who cared for Metzger in his last days, notes his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for funding or for anyone to green light this. We should proceed.”

A Decade Later

Ten years later, Remember Nature hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but organizers feel its impact can still be seen in campaigns like cultural advocacy groups and climate activism networks, as well as in how creatives consider the sustainability of their methods. This is the reason she is restaging it to commemorate its decade milestone. Among the key participants involved this time are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. They have all produced imagery, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be presented on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

Interviewing the artist, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and half educational workshop. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already involved learning about maths (calculating the gaps in the orchard), science (studying the apple’s DNA), and origins (tracing the journeys of how distinct varieties were introduced to England).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap

“Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarlet-colored sap. They all have stories behind them. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and hit the physicist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the influence we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was prompting them, on their next shopping trip, to look on the bag and see their names and where they were grown. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

At the capital, one artist’s project on disappearance will involve participants looking through Tate Modern on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been lost in recent years. All formations will be depicted on the gallery’s windows and walls using ultraviolet markers. Each discovery, a chime will sound and a reading will be conducted to commemorate that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be presenting a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as holding a communal feast, cooked from regional food. In another city, an artist is sharing her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers embark on a mission to perform for vegetation in a local park.

Children’s Voices

Following this approach, another participant will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is planning to decorate an art space in kids’ letters and drawings that capture their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as restricted as grown-ups’,” she says in her recorded message. “What children have to offer to the world is something quite unique and it may stimulate a sense of responsibility from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about optimism and us ensuring that they get a future.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then embodying them – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to address an iconic figure. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his ongoing series over the last two decades. That ongoing series began when he experienced three incidents of homophobic abuse on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the spot where it happened and record it – the project has since expanded to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

He picked the bloom not just for the direct association – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The project on the event day is to plant pansies at fresh spots and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while conversing with those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “I’ve recorded quite a few following earlier installations,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

Harfleet hopes his work – and