Emergency Exit to Nature

ARK Agency has created Greentime17, a UK-wide campaign for Eden Project that reframes the charity's call to spend more time outdoors as a literal emergency exit – built from plants.
The centrepiece is a 6 x 3 metre ‘Emergency Exit to Nature’ sign, constructed from drought-tolerant plants and unveiled in London's Canary Wharf today. Built in partnership with Creative Giants Art Ltd using reclaimed timber. the living wall reworks the universal fire-exit pictogram; swapping the running figure's destination for a cluster of trees, to dramatise new research showing 52% of UK adults now spend less than two hours a week in nature.
The installation anchors a wider campaign that includes OOH across 48-sheets, 6-sheets and digital screens, an animated social series, and video content documenting the build and public reaction, all developed by ARK. The creative deliberately borrows the visual language of emergency signage and screen-addiction imagery; lines of commuters walking head-down into phones, before resolving into the campaign's "Swap screen time for Greentime" message.
Edward Usher, Creative Partner, ARK Agency said:"The running figure from the emergency exit sign is a powerful symbol, designed to be completely unequivocal. But its ubiquity means it’s often ignored - just like the natural world. Sadly, we’re all living through an environmental crisis and a mental health emergency, so it was only right to adopt the symbology of an emergency exit sign, and twist it into something you can’t just ignore. If we can encourage people to swap just a few minutes’ screen time for Greentime every day, we’ll have taken a meaningful step in the right direction.”
Greentime17 launches Eden Project's mission to make 17 minutes a day in nature as routine as five-a-day or 10,000 steps, and forms the public-facing push behind Nature: Connections and Recovery, a three-year, multi-partner programme backed by The National Lottery Climate Action Fund, the Ashken Family Foundation and Bupa Foundation.
Andy Jasper, CEO, Eden Project said: "Our fragmented relationship with the natural world is impacting our health and that of the incredible natural world that feeds and clothes us. That's why we're launching Greentime17 with an arresting Emergency Exit to Nature artwork. This stunning installation at Canary Wharf in the country's capital aims to stop people in their tracks to deliver a clear message - the most effective way to support human health and the natural world is to get out in nature to enjoy it."
The installation runs in Canary Wharf until Thursday 10 September, after which all plants will be gifted to the public or rehomed at Eden Project in Cornwall.
ARK Agency was appointed to the Eden Project business following a competitive pitch process, adding it to a fast-growing roster that includes Rude Health, loveholidays, Magners, Huel, Löfbergs, Menabrea, Krispy Kreme, EA Sports and Goodwood.