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During 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger initiated one of his ultimate significant endeavors. Famed for pioneering art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to responding to global challenges from peace activism to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he issued a call for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“I call upon you for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on the fourth of November, 2015,” he stated, inviting makers and thinkers to stand against the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “Our responsibility is to remind people of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into territories that are inherently creative.”

The Creation of Environmental Reflection

And so the environmental art day came into being, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. An organizer, who supported Metzger in his final years, notes his feeling of immediacy. “I sensed a great sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. No need to pause for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. Let’s just do it.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, the initiative hasn’t quite triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but organizers feel its impact can still be observed in movements like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the environmental impact of their methods. For this purpose she is relaunching it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Part of the key participants involved this time are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. All participants have produced imagery, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Cultivating Awareness

Interviewing the artist, she is on site in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will create a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and half educational workshop. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about maths (spacing the planting intervals), genetics (discussing the apple’s DNA), and history (researching the stories of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

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

“Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the other unusual varieties,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that releases red juice. Every one carries stories behind them. The decio apple was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the control we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, when they go shopping, to look on the bag and see their names and their origin. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

In London, one artist’s project on disappearance will include attendees searching a major gallery on a journey to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in modern times. Each glacier will be depicted on the exhibition spaces using invisible ink. Each discovery, a bell will ring and a reading will be performed to commemorate that individual formation.

At the same time, up in a northern town, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a free exhibition about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a communal feast, prepared with sustainable ingredients. Over in Newcastle, an artist is sharing her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which community vocalists begin a project to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Following this approach, another participant will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is planning to cover a cultural venue in youth creations that capture their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as restricted as mature perspectives,” she says in her call to action video. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and it may provoke a feeling of duty from each person. Children are innocent. They have fears about the future. But let’s not make it about anxiety – it should be about positivity and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is aiming to address an iconic figure. He is also conducting a itinerant journey of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. This endeavor commenced following he experienced multiple occurrences of prejudice on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the site of each occurrence and photograph it – the project has since expanded to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently birds consume them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the clear connection – it has long been a slur – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to plant pansies at additional sites and also renew the tributes in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the guided walk about the events and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and