Five Valleys Audubon Monthly Meeting
December 12th
7 to 9 pm
Subject: Bird Medicine – The Joy of Looking – The Art of Seeing
Location: Room 110 Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (ISB) on the University of Montana campus

Please join us at our monthly chapter meeting on December 12th at 7:00 PM to hear our speaker, Ursula “Uschi” Carpenter. In her presentation, “Bird Medicine – The Joy of Looking - The Art of Seeing,” Uschi will take us on a journey exploring the power of birds by revealing their beauty in her photography and by celebrating their healing in her poetry.

Ursula “Uschi” Carpenter is a nature, wildlife, and fine arts photographer living in Missoula, Montana. She received a master’s degree in German and English literature and linguistics from the University of the Saarland in Germany and studied at the University of Bradford in Great Britain and the University of California at Berkeley, California. Her careers in teaching and international relations took her on a path from rural Montana to the upper political echelons of Washington, D.C. But it is in the art of capturing the beauty of the wild in both words and images that Uschi found her true calling. After initially focusing on landscape photography, Uschi developed a passion for photographing birds, which has transformed her into a seeker of magic, equilibrium, and soul in those feathered relatives we call “birds.” Her photography is said to carry a certain “gravitas,” which is reflected in the poetry that is often paired with her images. Uschi’s hope is that she can help humans see birds as fellow creatures co-inhabiting our planet, and that once people appreciate the beauty of birds, they will care about protecting them for our common future.

The meeting will be held in Room 110 in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (ISB) on the University of Montana campus. The building lies on the south end of campus on Beckwith Avenue between Maurice and Mansfield avenues. Due to our membership being composed of many older adults, masks are encouraged, but not required by the university. Room 110 is large enough that social distancing should not be a problem.

Photo Credit: Cedar Waxwing by Uschi Carpenter