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Back in 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his ultimate important works. Recognized for pioneering art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to addressing global challenges from anti-nuclear advocacy to plant-based living. Via a concise video message, he made a plea for a international event to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your engagement in this global appeal for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he announced, urging makers and thinkers to oppose the ongoing loss of species. “The mission is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter realms that are inherently creative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

Thus the environmental art day was born, a day when artists across the country developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. Jo Joelson, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, remembers his drive for action. “He had a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for funding or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

After Ten Years

Ten years later, the initiative hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be observed in campaigns like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their work. For this purpose she is relaunching it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Among the 18 lead artists involved this time are Cornelia Parker and Anya Gallaccio. All participants have produced imagery, shared messages, and created artworks set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

Interviewing one participant, she is working outdoors in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and half educational workshop. As she explains, the planning and planting sessions have already incorporated learning about measurements (measuring out the distances between trees), genetics (exploring the hereditary traits), and geography (researching the stories of how various cultivars came to the UK).

Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that releases scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases red juice. Each has stories behind them. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that descended from a tree and hit the physicist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the control we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to check the packaging and see the variety and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Throughout Britain

In London, one artist’s work about extinction will involve participants searching an art institution on a journey to find the ice masses that have been vanished in recent years. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the exhibition spaces using invisible ink. When located, a chime will sound and a recitation will be held to honor that particular glacier.

Elsewhere, up in another location, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a public show about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a community dinner, made using regional food. In another city, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her musical project, in which community vocalists undertake a task to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Youth Perspectives

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is planning to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in kids’ letters and drawings that document their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are powerful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her recorded message. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can provoke a feeling of duty from each person. Youth is pure. They have fears about the future. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about positivity and us ensuring that they have a tomorrow.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is aiming to tackle Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his long-term work over the past twenty years. That ongoing series started after he faced three incidents of discrimination on a one occasion. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and record it – the project has since spiralled to cover events reported by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the pansy 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. “People connected it with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to plant pansies at new locations and also replant flowers in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and