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Brenda Schmidt
Brenda grew up on a farm in the Coteau Hills of Saskatchewan, in the midst of an internationally recognized important bird migration route. A former registered nurse, she also has a BA, English, from the University of Waterloo. While living in the north, she worked for a time as a freelance reporter and photographer, wrote a birding column and volunteered in a recycling centre. Brenda's writing and painting processes have always been closely linked. Her paintings hung in solo and group exhibitions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the 1990s. Lately she’s been focussing on bringing poetry into digital and multimedia work. Much of the work comes out of road trips and time spent wandering down the backroads. A birder and long-time member of Nature Saskatchewan, she’s been actively involved in citizen science projects for many years. She’s been the compiler for the annual Creighton Christmas Bird Count since its inception and is one of the volunteers who stand in the dark each spring listening for owls for the Saskatchewan Nocturnal Owl Survey.