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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final significant endeavors. Known for pioneering art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting societal issues from peace activism to ethical eating. Via a concise video message, he requested support for a international event to honor the environment.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, urging artists and creatives 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 the arts will venture into domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the ongoing environmental crisis. Jo Joelson, who supported Metzger in his final years, recalls his sense of urgency. “There was a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “My advice was – 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

A decade on, Remember Nature hasn’t quite incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its impact can still be observed in campaigns like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how creatives consider the eco-friendliness of their practices. That’s why she is restaging it to mark its ten-year mark. Part of the 18 lead artists participating now are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. They have all designed posters, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing one participant, she is working outdoors in Kent, cultivating apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and half educational workshop. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about mathematics (spacing the planting intervals), science (exploring the hereditary traits), and geography (mapping the stories of how various cultivars were introduced to England).

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

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that releases red juice. Every one carries histories attached. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the power we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see the variety and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Nationwide

Within the city, one artist’s work about extinction will include attendees searching a major gallery on a quest to find the ice masses that have been disappeared in the past decade. Every ice sheet will be drawn on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. Each discovery, a bell will ring and a performance will be performed to commemorate that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in a northern town, a creative will be presenting a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as organizing a shared meal, made using organic, local produce. In another city, a participant is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which community vocalists begin a project to perform for vegetation in a local park.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is aiming to cover a cultural venue in children’s artwork 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 call to action video. “What children have to offer to the world is something distinctive and perhaps it can provoke a awareness of obligation from everyone. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about positivity and us ensuring that they have a tomorrow.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then embodying them – and for the initiative he is aiming to represent Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the past twenty years. The project began when he faced several events of homophobic abuse on a particular day. To counter this, 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. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “It seems birds consume them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a slur – but also because its etymology comes 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 plan on the event day is to place blooms at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his personal experiences. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says sadly.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and