February 1 Earth Care Book Club Discussion

Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich
11:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 1, 2026
Little Sanctuary

We have chosen a book about how animals survive the cold of winter for our February book read. Come join us after the morning service on Sunday, February 1, in the Little Sanctuary at 11:30 a.m., to discuss Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich.

As the weather turns cold and blustery, we humans bundle up in winter clothes and retreat to our warm homes, complete with artificial lights, furnaces, food, and running water. What do animals do to survive as temperatures drop below freezing and most of nature seems to sleep or disappear? A few species migrate to warmer areas, but most others manage to find ways to survive the season without leaving the area. We’ll be discussing what some of their strategies are.

We know that monarchs migrate south, but how did the other butterflies that we see early in the spring survive the cold? How about other insects like solitary bees or dragonflies or ladybugs? What did kinglets and chickadees do before the advent of modern bird feeding stations? For that matter, how do these and other birds survive in areas where there are no bird feeders? Then there are the cold-blooded vertebrates like snakes and turtles and frogs and toads. To where do they retreat when they need to avoid sub-freezing temperatures? Humans have a hard time staying warm despite their relatively large body size, so how do tiny mice and voles survive bitter temperatures?

The questions are endless.

We hope you’ll join us in our discussion of Winter World, even if you haven’t read the book yet. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot of fascinating information!

-Cynthia Abbott