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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger launched one of his last important works. Famed for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had dedicated his life to confronting human struggles from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. Via a concise video message, he requested support for a global day of action to remember nature.

“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 announced, encouraging artists and creatives to resist the continuing disappearance of flora and fauna. “The mission is to help the public recall of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

Thus the environmental art day was born, a day when artists across the country developed works to the ongoing environmental crisis. Jo Joelson, who supported Metzger in his last days, notes his feeling of immediacy. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for financial support or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

Ten years later, 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 campaigns like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their methods. That’s why she is relaunching it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Part of the key participants taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. All participants have created visual art, made video appeals, and created artworks set to be revealed on 4 November 2025.

Sowing Change

When speaking to one participant, she is on site in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a spiral-shaped orchard. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and half educational workshop. She describes, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about measurements (spacing the gaps in the orchard), science (discussing the hereditary traits), and origins (tracing the stories of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that releases 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 produces red juice. They all have histories attached. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more actively aware of the natural world and the power we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was urging them, when they go shopping, to read the label and see the variety and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

Within the city, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will engage visitors looking through an art institution on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be drawn on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. When located, a alert will occur and a reading will be performed to honor that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in a northern town, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a free exhibition about our alienation from the environment, as well as hosting a community dinner, made using organic, local produce. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is sharing her musical project, in which regional performers begin a project to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, another participant will be engaging schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is hoping to decorate a cultural venue in youth creations that document their dreams and worries for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as restricted as mature perspectives,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and it may provoke a feeling of duty from each person. 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

A participant’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his feathered initiative involves drawing birds and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is aiming to represent Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the past twenty years. That ongoing series started after he experienced three incidents of prejudice on a one occasion. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and record it – the project has since expanded to include incidents experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly birds consume them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the pansy not just for the direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The project on Remember Nature day is to plant pansies at additional sites and also refresh the memorials in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his recollections. “I’ve recorded quite a few following earlier installations,” he says mournfully.

Advancing Positively

The artist wishes his work – and