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Back in 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his ultimate significant endeavors. Famed for introducing self-destructive creations, Metzger had dedicated his life to responding to human struggles from peace activism to vegetarianism. In a brief video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“This is my appeal for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, encouraging makers and thinkers to resist the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “The mission is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the ongoing environmental crisis. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, remembers his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I just said – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for funding or for anyone to approve this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the project hasn’t quite triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but supporters think its influence can still be observed in initiatives like Culture Declares and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their methods. This is the reason she is relaunching it to celebrate its decade milestone. Included in the key participants taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and prominent artists. They have all produced imagery, recorded calls to action, and created artworks set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

When speaking to the artist, she is working outdoors in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will grow to form a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and half educational workshop. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about maths (calculating the distances between trees), genetics (discussing the hereditary traits), and history (mapping the journeys of how different apples arrived in Britain).

Several the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill,” she explains. “We have one apple that produces crimson liquid. Every one carries background narratives. The historical cultivar was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more actively aware of nature and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to read the label and see the variety and where they were grown. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Throughout Britain

At the capital, a participant’s project on disappearance will engage visitors exploring Tate Modern on a journey to find the seven major glaciers that have been lost in recent years. All formations will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using ultraviolet markers. When located, a chime will sound and a reading will be held to remember that individual formation.

At the same time, up in a northern town, an artist will be hosting a open display about our separation from nature, as well as organizing a community dinner, made using organic, local produce. In another city, an artist is broadcasting her environmental performance, in which regional performers undertake a task to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, another participant will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to fill an art space in kids’ letters and drawings that document their dreams and worries for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as trammelled as mature perspectives,” she says in her call to action video. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and perhaps it can provoke a feeling of duty from us all. Children are innocent. They have anxieties about what’s next. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about hope and us ensuring that they get a future.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the initiative he is planning to address an iconic figure. He is also organizing a itinerant journey of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. The project commenced following he faced several events of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence and photograph it – the project has since spiralled to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a slur – 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 bad quality,” he says.

The plan on 4 November is to sow flowers at additional sites and also replant flowers in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the walking tour about the events and his recollections. “We’ve seen quite a few following earlier installations,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and