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In 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final important works. Famed for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had spent a lifetime to addressing human struggles from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. Through a short video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your engagement in this international summons for a day of action to reflect on the environment on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting cultural workers to resist the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Remember Nature

And so the environmental art day was born, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the unfolding climate catastrophe. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, the initiative did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but Joelson believes its impact can still be seen in campaigns like artist-led declarations and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the environmental impact of their work. That’s why she is reviving it to commemorate its 10-year anniversary. Among the featured creators participating now are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. They have all created visual art, made video appeals, and created artworks set to be presented on 4 November 2025.

Sowing Change

Interviewing the artist, 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 somewhat artistic and half educational workshop. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about measurements (spacing the distances between trees), genetics (discussing the apple’s DNA), and geography (researching the backgrounds of how distinct varieties were introduced to England).

Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases crimson liquid. Each has histories attached. The historical cultivar was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more consciously engaged of the natural world and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see what they’re called and their origin. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

At the capital, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will include attendees exploring Tate Modern on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been vanished in the past decade. All formations will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using ultraviolet markers. Each discovery, a chime will sound and a performance will be held to honor that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a free exhibition about our separation from nature, as well as organizing a communal feast, prepared with regional food. Over in Newcastle, Uta Kögelsberger is sharing her musical project, in which local singers embark on a mission to perform for vegetation in a green space.

Youth Perspectives

Following this approach, a featured creator will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in kids’ letters and drawings that document their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are impactful because they’re not as inhibited as grown-ups’,” she says in her call to action video. “What children have to offer to the world is something distinctive and it may inspire a feeling of duty from everyone. Children are innocent. They have anxieties about what’s next. But this shouldn’t be about anxiety – it should be about positivity and us ensuring that they have a tomorrow.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves sketching winged creatures and then dressing up as them – and for the initiative he is intending to represent a local symbol. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his long-term work over the last two decades. The project started after he faced three incidents of prejudice on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and document it – the project has since spiralled to include incidents experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

Harfleet chose the flower not just for the direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The intention on the event day is to plant pansies at new locations and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the incidents and his memories of them. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says mournfully.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and