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Back in 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his final major projects. Famed for introducing self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting human struggles from anti-nuclear advocacy 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 participation in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on 4 November 2015,” he stated, inviting artists and creatives to stand against the steady eradication of flora and fauna. “The mission is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter realms that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Creation of Environmental Reflection

And so the environmental art day came into being, a day when artists across the country produced pieces to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, recalls his drive for action. “I sensed 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 green light this. We should proceed.”

After Ten Years

A decade on, the project hasn’t quite sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but Joelson believes its impact can still be observed in movements like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how creatives consider the environmental impact of their methods. This is the reason she is relaunching it to mark its decade milestone. Among the featured creators participating now are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. They have all designed posters, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be presented on 4 November 2025.

Sowing Change

Interviewing one participant, she is working outdoors in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a spiral-shaped orchard. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and half educational workshop. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already involved learning about maths (measuring out the planting intervals), genetics (studying the genetic makeup), and origins (researching the stories of how various cultivars came to the UK).

Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“A lot of the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarlet-colored sap. Each has background narratives. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more consciously engaged of the natural world and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to check the packaging and see the variety and the source. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Artistic Responses Across the Country

Within the city, one artist’s work about extinction will engage visitors searching Tate Modern on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been vanished in the past decade. Each glacier will be depicted on the exhibition spaces using invisible ink. When located, a chime will sound and a recitation will be conducted to honor that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in another location, an artist will be presenting a free exhibition about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a community dinner, made using sustainable ingredients. In another city, Uta Kögelsberger is sharing her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers undertake a task to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Young Insights

Following this approach, Cornelia Parker will be engaging schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is aiming to fill a cultural venue in kids’ letters and drawings that capture their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as inhibited as grown-ups’,” she says in her recorded message. “The contributions of youth to the world is something distinctive and perhaps it can stimulate a sense of responsibility from each person. Youth is pure. They have fears about the future. But let’s not make it about worry – it should be about positivity and making sure that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is aiming to tackle an iconic figure. He is also organizing a itinerant journey of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. This endeavor started after he endured several events of homophobic abuse on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and document it – the project has since expanded to cover events shared by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “It seems birds consume them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – 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 bad quality,” he says.

The intention on the event day is to sow flowers at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has previously memorialised, all the while conversing with those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says mournfully.

Progressing Optimistically

Harfleet hopes his work – and