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During 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last significant endeavors. Known for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting human struggles from anti-nuclear advocacy to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he issued a call for a worldwide initiative to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your participation in this international summons for a day of action to remember nature on the fourth of November, 2015,” he stated, urging artists and creatives to resist the steady eradication of living beings. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

In this way the environmental art day came into being, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, notes his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. Let’s not wait for funding or for anyone to green light this. We should proceed.”

After Ten Years

A decade on, the initiative did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its legacy can still be seen in movements like artist-led declarations and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their work. For this purpose she is reviving it to commemorate its decade milestone. Among the featured creators taking part currently are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. Each has produced imagery, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Sowing Change

In conversation with the artist, she is out in a field in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and half educational workshop. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about maths (spacing the gaps in the orchard), science (discussing the apple’s DNA), and history (mapping the journeys of how different apples came to the UK).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that produces scarcolored sap

“Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. They all have stories behind them. The decio apple was imported by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that fell from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more consciously engaged of the environment 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 look on the bag and see the variety and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Across the Country

In London, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will involve participants searching an art institution on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in modern times. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the exhibition spaces using special pens. When located, a alert will occur and a recitation will be performed to honor that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be putting on a free exhibition about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a community dinner, made using organic, local produce. Over in Newcastle, Uta Kögelsberger is streaming her musical project, in which community vocalists undertake a task to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Youth Perspectives

Similar to other artists, another participant will be working with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is aiming to cover a cultural venue in children’s artwork that express their dreams and worries for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as trammelled as grown-ups’,” she says in her call to action video. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and it may inspire a awareness of obligation from everyone. Children are innocent. They have anxieties about what’s next. But it isn’t meant to be about worry – it should be about positivity and making sure that they get a future.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then embodying them – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle a local symbol. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. The project started after he faced several events of prejudice on a one occasion. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since grown to cover events shared by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

He picked the pansy 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 became associated with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on 4 November is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has marked earlier, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and