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Back in 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his ultimate major projects. Known for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to addressing societal issues from peace activism to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he requested support for a international event to celebrate the natural world.

“I call upon you for your involvement in this international summons for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he announced, inviting makers and thinkers to stand against the continuing disappearance of living beings. “The mission is to remind people of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are naturally imaginative.”

The Inception of Environmental Reflection

In this way Remember Nature was born, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain produced pieces to the ongoing environmental crisis. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, recalls his drive for action. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I urged him – we must act now. Let’s not wait for funding or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the initiative did not triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but organizers feel its influence can still be felt in initiatives like artist-led declarations and environmental protests, as well as in how makers handle the eco-friendliness of their methods. This is the reason she is relaunching it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Included in the 18 lead artists participating now are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. Each has created visual art, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

In conversation with Anya Gallaccio, she is out in a field in the countryside, cultivating apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and half educational workshop. As she explains, the planning and planting sessions have already involved learning about mathematics (calculating the distances between trees), science (exploring the genetic makeup), and history (researching the stories of how various cultivars were introduced to England).

Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that produces crimson liquid

“Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries histories attached. The decio apple was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on the physicist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the control we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was prompting them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see the variety and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

In London, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will involve participants searching an art institution on a quest to find the seven major glaciers that have been lost in the past decade. Each glacier will be drawn on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. When located, a chime will sound and a reading will be conducted to remember that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in another location, an artist will be putting on a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a shared meal, made using sustainable ingredients. In another city, a participant is sharing her musical project, in which local singers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, a featured creator will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is planning to fill a cultural venue in youth creations that document their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Children’s words and images are compelling because they’re not as inhibited as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can inspire a sense of responsibility from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have fears about the future. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they have a tomorrow.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to address a local symbol. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. This endeavor started after he experienced several events of homophobic abuse on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the site of each occurrence and record it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences shared by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the pansy not just for the clear connection – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to place blooms at fresh spots and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while conversing with those on the itinerant journey about the events and his personal experiences. “I’ve recorded quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Moving Forward with Hope

The artist wishes his work – and