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In 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger initiated one of his ultimate significant endeavors. Recognized for creating art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting societal issues from peace activism to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your engagement in this global appeal for a day of action to remember nature on 4 November 2015,” he declared, urging cultural workers to stand against the steady eradication of flora and fauna. “Our responsibility is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

Thus Remember Nature came into being, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his drive for action. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, the initiative did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but supporters think its impact can still be observed in movements like cultural advocacy groups and climate activism networks, as well as in how creatives consider the environmental impact of their work. That’s why she is relaunching it to mark its ten-year mark. Part of the key participants involved this time are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. All participants have produced imagery, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be revealed on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to the artist, she is working outdoors in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will grow to form a spiral-shaped orchard. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. As she explains, the planning and planting sessions have already incorporated learning about mathematics (calculating the distances between trees), science (discussing the hereditary traits), and history (tracing the stories of how different apples were introduced to England).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces red juice

“A lot of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. Every one carries histories attached. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that dropped off a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of nature and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, when they go shopping, to check the packaging and see the variety and the source. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

At the capital, one artist’s project on disappearance will include attendees looking through an art institution on a mission to find the frozen formations that have been disappeared in modern times. Each glacier will be drawn on the museum surfaces using special pens. Whenever one is found, a bell will ring and a recitation will be conducted to honor that specific ice mass.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be putting on a free exhibition about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a community dinner, prepared with sustainable ingredients. Over in Newcastle, a participant is broadcasting her environmental performance, in which regional performers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Youth Perspectives

Following this approach, a featured creator will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is hoping to fill an art space in children’s artwork that document their dreams and worries for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her recorded message. “What children have to offer to the world is something quite unique and hopefully it will inspire a awareness of obligation from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But this shouldn’t 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 Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then embodying them – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to address Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also staging a itinerant journey of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. That ongoing series commenced following he experienced multiple occurrences of discrimination on a particular day. To counter this, 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. “The flowers remain there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

He picked the pansy not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a slur – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The project on the event day is to plant pansies at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the guided walk about the incidents and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says sadly.

Advancing Positively

Harfleet hopes his work – and