By late December, I often feel the pull to learn more about the natural world, especially when spending long stretches outdoors feels harder. The days are short, the cold lingers, and time outside can be brief and practical rather than lingering. Still, I want to stay connected to nature through the dark season, and learning has become one of the ways I do that.
Winter turns out to be a good time for this kind of quiet education. With gardens sleeping and trails quieter, there’s space to read, watch, and listen. I’ve found myself taking online courses, following lectures, and revisiting books that deepen my understanding of what I see outside. There’s a surprising amount available for free, from long recorded talks to full university courses that share their materials openly. One winter, I fell into studying dendrology, learning the language of trees, their bark patterns, buds, branching habits, and the small details that make one species distinct from another. Walking past a bare maple or oak after that felt different, more familiar, as if I’d been properly introduced.
Learning in winter doesn’t replace time outdoors, but it supports it. Reading about plant biology or watching a lecture on ecosystems sharpens attention for the moments I do step outside. A frozen forest becomes less empty and more quietly detailed. Even a short walk can turn into a kind of review, where names, shapes, and ideas surface naturally as I move along.
If today allows, you might choose one small way to learn about the natural world around you. It could be reading a few pages of a nature book, watching part of a lecture, or looking up the name of a tree you pass often. Let it be simple and unhurried, something that fits easily into the quiet of the season.
