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Back in 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his ultimate major projects. Famed for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting societal issues from peace activism to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your engagement in this worldwide call for a day of action to commemorate our planet on November 4th, 2015,” he announced, encouraging makers and thinkers to stand against the continuing disappearance of species. “Our task is to help the public recall of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Birth of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when artists across the country produced pieces to the ongoing environmental crisis. Jo Joelson, who supported Metzger in his later life, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a strong sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “I urged him – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

Ten years later, the initiative did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but organizers feel its legacy can still be observed in movements like Culture Declares and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how creatives consider the environmental impact of their practices. This is the reason she is relaunching it to commemorate its decade milestone. Among the 18 lead artists participating now are Yu-Chen Wang and Anya Gallaccio. They have all created visual art, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing Anya Gallaccio, she is working outdoors in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will create a spiral-shaped orchard. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about maths (calculating the gaps in the orchard), genetics (exploring the hereditary traits), and origins (mapping the stories of how different apples came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that releases scarcolored sap

“Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got funny names such as the other unusual varieties,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and struck the physicist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more actively aware of nature 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, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see their names and their origin. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

At the capital, one artist’s project on disappearance will include attendees exploring Tate Modern on a quest to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in modern times. Each glacier will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using ultraviolet markers. Whenever one is found, a alert will occur and a reading will be held to commemorate that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in a northern town, an artist will be presenting a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as hosting a shared meal, cooked from sustainable ingredients. Further north, an artist is broadcasting her musical project, in which regional performers undertake a task to perform for vegetation in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to fill an art space in children’s artwork that capture their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as restricted as grown-ups’,” she says in her call to action video. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can stimulate a feeling of duty from everyone. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But let’s not make it about worry – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. Drawing on past experience, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then embodying them – and for the event he is aiming to address Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his long-term work over the last two decades. This endeavor started after he faced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the location of every incident and photograph it – the project has since expanded to cover events reported by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the clear connection – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on 4 November is to sow flowers at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the incidents and his memories of them. “I’ve recorded quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and