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Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger launched one of his ultimate important works. Known for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting global challenges from anti-nuclear advocacy to plant-based living. Via a concise video message, he issued a call for a global day of action to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this international summons for a day of action to commemorate our planet on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, inviting artists and creatives to resist the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “Our task is to remind people of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Creation of Remember Nature

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when creatives nationwide created responses to the escalating planetary emergency. Jo Joelson, who supported Metzger in his last days, recalls his sense of urgency. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for financial support or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

After Ten Years

A decade on, Remember Nature did not incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but organizers feel its legacy can still be seen in movements like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their work. That’s why she is restaging it to celebrate its decade milestone. Included in the key participants participating now are A Man Called Adam and prominent artists. They have all produced imagery, recorded calls to action, and developed pieces set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

Interviewing the artist, she is working outdoors in a rural area, cultivating apple trees that will create a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. She describes, the preparation and sowing sessions have already involved learning about measurements (calculating the planting intervals), science (exploring the genetic makeup), and geography (tracing the journeys of how different apples were introduced to England).

Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that produces scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The decio apple was introduced 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 thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the power we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was prompting them, when they go shopping, to read the label and see the variety and their origin. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

In London, a participant’s Book of Loss will include attendees exploring a major gallery on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been lost in modern times. All formations will be depicted on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. When located, a chime will sound and a reading will be held to remember that particular glacier.

Elsewhere, up in a northern town, an artist will be putting on a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as organizing a shared meal, cooked from regional food. Over in Newcastle, a participant is broadcasting her musical project, in which regional performers undertake a task to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Young Insights

Following this approach, a featured creator will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is aiming to cover a cultural venue in kids’ letters and drawings that capture their aspirations and concerns for the future. “Kids’ art are compelling because they’re not as inhibited as grown-ups’,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will provoke a sense of responsibility from each person. Children are innocent. They have fears about the future. But this shouldn’t be about anxiety – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they get a future.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then performing as birds – and for the event he is aiming to tackle an iconic figure. He is also staging a itinerant journey of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. This endeavor began when he faced several events of homophobic abuse on a particular day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences shared by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

He picked the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a slur – but also because its name derives 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 sow flowers at additional sites and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his recollections. “I’ve recorded quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

Harfleet hopes his work – and