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Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final major projects. Famed for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. Via a concise video message, he issued a call for a worldwide initiative to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on 4 November 2015,” he announced, inviting makers and thinkers to stand against the steady eradication of species. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into realms that are inherently creative.”

The Inception of Remember Nature

In this way Remember Nature came into being, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the unfolding climate catastrophe. Jo Joelson, who cared for Metzger in his last days, recalls his feeling of immediacy. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to green light this. We should proceed.”

After Ten Years

After ten years, Remember Nature did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but supporters think its impact can still be seen in initiatives like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the environmental impact of their methods. That’s why she is restaging it to mark its decade milestone. Part of the key participants participating now are Yu-Chen Wang and prominent artists. Each has designed posters, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Sowing Change

In conversation with Anya Gallaccio, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and half educational workshop. As she explains, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about measurements (measuring out the gaps in the orchard), science (exploring the hereditary traits), and geography (researching the stories of how different apples came to the UK).

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

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarlet-colored sap. Each has histories attached. The decio apple was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see the variety and where they were grown. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

In London, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will involve participants searching Tate Modern on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be drawn on the exhibition spaces using invisible ink. Each discovery, a bell will ring and a reading will be conducted to commemorate that individual formation.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be putting on a free exhibition about our separation from nature, as well as hosting a shared meal, cooked from sustainable ingredients. In another city, an artist is broadcasting her environmental performance, in which regional performers begin a project to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, a featured creator will be engaging schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is aiming to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that capture their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Kids’ art are compelling because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her recorded message. “The contributions of youth to the world is something quite unique and hopefully it will inspire a sense of responsibility from us all. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But let’s not make it about fear – it should be about hope and our responsibility that they have a tomorrow.”

Memorials and Memory

Paul Harfleet’s work also connects with children. As a former drag queen, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to tackle Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his long-term work over the last two decades. That ongoing series started after he endured multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and document it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The project on 4 November is to plant pansies at new locations and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the incidents and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

Harfleet hopes his work – and