Join us for a presentation and Q&A with author Nancy Castaldo, to celebrate the release of her new book, Squirrel: How a Backyard Forager Shapes Our World.
Squirrels are a common sight, seemingly everywhere in wild and urban nature. Their chattering antics in city parks delight us while their raids on our backyard gardens and birdfeeders never fail to exasperate. But squirrels are more than amusing backyard entertainers, and few of us know much about them or fully appreciate their role in keeping the environment healthy. As stress on the natural world intensifies, should we be paying more attention to the plight of squirrels?
In Squirrel, Nancy Castaldo shines new light on this familiar backyard mammal, exploring their staggering diversity (they’re found on all continents but Antarctica) and the many surprising ways they shape our world, our communities, and our cultures. Each chapter explores an aspect of squirrels and their close and sometimes fraught association with humans: their importance to myriad ecosystems through sophisticated food-caching strategies; their introduction to nineteenth-century urban parks as adorable ambassadors for nature; their complicated global status as both invasive and endangered; their role as celebrated cultural icons and social media memes; and ultimately, why we must prevent population declines and protect their well-being while we can. Like other wildlife species, squirrels are increasingly stressed by climate change, and their speculative fate may foreshadow our own. The book includes a detailed bibliography, an exhaustive list of squirrel species and their status, and tips for coexisting peaceably with squirrels in our yards and neighborhoods. Chapters are introduced by exquisitely drawn historical illustrations.
Nancy Castaldo is the author of children’s and young adult books such as The Story of Seeds and Back from the Brink, that have garnered starred reviews and won awards, including the Eureka Award for Nonfiction, Green Earth Book Award, and Sigurd F. Olsen Nature Writing honors. Nancy has authored feature articles for Conservationist Magazine, Sierra Club Waste Paper, NRDC online, and a monthly column, “Naturally Speaking,” for a regional Hudson Valley, NY, newspaper. Nancy holds a BS degree in biology and an MA in Liberal Studies. She is a certified National Geographic educator, a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and serves on the council of the International Wildlife Coexistence Network.
Please register, so we can set the community room up with appropriate seating.
Books will be for sale at this event.
Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Avon Library & Avon Land Trust