20 Oct 2009
Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst staged a ‘Global Dinner’ on Tuesday 13 October which raised $1 600 for charity. One of the organisers, Ms Georgia Gilson, a third-year journalism student and a residential advisor at ‘The Diggings’ student accommodation, said the charity event was part of Diggings Week, and the first of its kind to be held on the Bathurst Campus. “More than 150 students attended,” Ms Gilson said. “We divided the room into 19 national tables consisting of first, second and third world countries, and we treated these tables accordingly throughout the night. All residential advisors from the various accommodation complexes on the Bathurst Campus volunteered to help on the night as ‘United Nations representatives’. It is rare for all the residences to work together for the greater good, and to raise awareness among students about life outside our privileged sphere.”

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews.
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13 Oct 2009
Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) research and teaching links with Pakistan will be highlighted when the High Commissioner of Pakistan visits Wagga Wagga on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October. CSU has forged strong relationships with Pakistan in the areas of animal and veterinary sciences and water. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Jalil Abbas Jilani, will meet the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Sue Thomas. The senior diplomat will also meet CSU researchers from the University’s International Centre of Water for Food Security (IC WATER) and the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation. He will tour the campus including the Veterinary Clinical Centre, and visit Coleambally in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA).

Media Officer	: Fiona Halloran
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: The High Commissioner of Pakistan will visit Coleambally on Thursday 15 October. On Friday 16 October, His Excellency will hear presentations at CSU at Wagga Wagga on research by IC WATER into water irrigation efficiencies in the MIA and a Pakistan-based dairy production project led by CSU’s Professor Peter Wynn. Read more here. The Higher Commissioner will also hear about international study opportunities for students offered through CSU Global. He is due to depart CSU at 1.45pm on Friday 16 October. For interviews, contact CSU Media.
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13 Oct 2009

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews.
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13 Oct 2009
A team of 140 Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in 15 teams in 13 different sports competed against 7 000 students from 40 other Australian and New Zealand universities at Australia’s largest annual sporting event, the 2009 Australian University Games held at the Gold Coast, Queensland, from 27 September to 2 October. CSU’s lawn bowls team of Mr Andrew Banasik and Mr Adam Parker (pairs) and Mr Jay Mathieson (singles) won the gold medal, while the CSU Bluebottles men’s water polo team won a silver medal, and the CSU men’s touch football team, which was down on numbers, won the bronze medal. CSU team manager, Mr Nik Granger, said it was a great week of competition where all CSU students participated in the right spirit. “This did not go unnoticed, and CSU was the unofficial runner-up for the ‘Spirit of the Games’ award. This is testament to the great nature of CSU students, who, year-in year-out, are known for their sportsmanship and good behaviour.” For each sport, a paper-based Green and Gold Merit team is chosen of people who have stood out to selectors during the week. CSU had six team members selected in their respective Green and Gold teams; Ms Chiara Porter (basketball), Mr Shane Conroy (hockey), and Mr Adam Parker (lawn bowls) and Ms Eliza Baddock, Mr Sam Thompson and Mr Brendan Collits (all in touch football).

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews. The 2010 Australian University Games will be staged in Perth, Western Australia.
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13 Oct 2009
Seven Charles Sturt University (CSU) campuses will become rivals on Wednesday 14 October as they compete in a campus challenge as part of National Ride to Work Day. “There are a large number of staff on each campus who are regular and keen bicycle riders, but this is our way of encouraging other staff at Charles Sturt University to give it a go,” said Mr David Tallentire, CSU Manager of Occupational Health and Safety and the campus challenge organiser. “The establishment of CSU Green in 2008 highlighted a commitment to cooperate with communities towards sustainability, and by taking part in the National Ride to Work Day, CSU staff are supporting this commitment.” Twenty-four cyclists have registered for the ride at CSU at Wagga Wagga. Ride to Work is a behaviour change program that encourages workers to feel good and have fun by commuting to work by bicycle and experiencing the health, financial and environmental benefits of cycling.

Media Officer	: Holly-Amber Manning
Telephone	: 02 6365 7813

Media Note:
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13 Oct 2009
With several species of blowfly developing a resistance to numerous classes of insecticides, local sheep breeders are to learn how to contain flystrike in their flock when they attend a free flystrike prevention workshop at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange this Friday 16 October. Run by the NSW  Department of Industry and Investment, the hands-on workshop is for commercial sheep producers who wish to maintain their skills and knowledge to prevent flystrike. Dr Shevahn Telfser from CSU’s School of Agriculture and Wine Science says, “Sheep producers who attend the workshop will walk away with key tools to help reduce the incidence of flystrike in their flock, and, if a fly wave strikes, how to deal with it swiftly and effectively.” For more information contact Ms Jane Mason, Orange Agricultural Institute on 6391 3967.

Media Officer	: Holly-Amber Manning
Telephone	: 02 6365 7813

Media Note: For interviews and more information contact CSU Media. The workshop will run from 1-5pm on Friday 16 October.
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13 Oct 2009
It was smiles all-around when five Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and five local TAFE students received scholarships from the V8 Supercars organisation to assist with their studies. The scholarships, with a total value of $23 000, were presented at a ceremony at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst on Thursday 8 October in the lead-up to the annual ‘Great Race’ at Mount Panorama. Four students from the CSU School of Communication - Ms Kate Prince, Ms Melissa Gompes, Mr Thomas Lowrey, and Mr Joshua Manning - and one from the CSU School of Nursing, Ms Clare Pithers, received scholarships. They were congratulated by the Mayor of Bathurst, Councillor Paul Toole, Chief Operations Officer with V8 Supercars, Mr Shane Howard, CSU Head of Campus at Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, and by Associate Professor Rod McCulloch, Head of the CSU School of Communication at Bathurst. Journalism student Ms Melissa Gompes received The Peter Brock Memorial Scholarship in association with V8 Supercars and Bathurst Regional Council. Ms Gompes gave the vote of thanks on behalf of all students, stressing how much the financial assistance was appreciated. During proceedings it was noted that several of the TAFE students who received scholarships intend to study at CSU in 2010.

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews.
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13 Oct 2009
The town of Temora will host a free public lecture on Wednesday 21 October by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) internationally renowned wetland ecologist, Adjunct Professor David Mitchell, who will discuss recent developments in the management of water in Australian landscapes. Professor Mitchell is from the CSU School of Environmental Sciences at Albury-Wodonga and is Principal Researcher in the University’s Institute of Land, Water and Society. He will review whether it is possible to manage surface waters in southern Australia using methods that mimic the natural processes of water storage and distribution. Professor Mitchell says, “Natural storage of water in the soil profile and in vegetation used to form a protective mantle over the surface. This has been largely replaced by surface water storage from which it readily evaporates, especially during droughts.”. While the latter approach supplies water for agricultural and urban demands, Professor Mitchell will question whether Australia is too reliant on this method of water storage. The CSU academic will also examine the ‘Natural Sequence Farming’ approach founded by Mr Peter Andrews.

Media Officer	: Fiona Halloran
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: Adjunct Professor David Mitchell is available for interview. CSU wines and cheeses will be served after the lecture at 6pm on Wednesday 21 October in the Temora Town Hall, corner of Deboos and Loftus Streets, Temora. RSVP to Ms Anne Rands on 02 6980 1100 or send an email. arands@temora.nsw.gov.au In 2003, Professor Mitchell became an International Fellow of the Society of Wetland Scientists for ‘a lifetime of contributions to wetland science and management’. Read more here. In 2004, CSU named wetlands at its Thurgoona site the David Mitchell Wetlands in recognition of his excellence in, and commitment to, his field.
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13 Oct 2009
Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Parkes Shire Council will host a free public lecture on Wednesday 21 October at Parkes to examine the difficult questions surrounding the provision of health care services in rural and remote areas. ‘What Health Services Should Rural Australia Have?’ will be presented by the University’s Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy, Professor Patrick Ball, from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga . Professor Ball will present his findings from a study of health care services in two similar rural communities in NSW. “Our research provides evidence that what is required is more flexibility in allowing communities to develop approaches that meet their individual needs, based more upon access to services, rather than necessarily their physical presence,” said Professor Ball. Read more about Professor Ball’s research here.

Media Officer	: Fiona Halloran
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: Professor Patrick Ball is available for interviews from Wednesday 7 October. The free public lecture will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 21 October in The Coventry Room, Parkes Shire Council, Bogan Street, Parkes. CSU wines and cheeses will be served after the lecture. To RSVP contact Ms Tracy Ellery on 02 6863 8860 or send an email tracy.ellery@parkes.nsw.gov.au
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13 Oct 2009
Living sustainably through kitchen gardens in schools and in the wider community is the focus of the 2009 Education for Sustainability Conference to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst on Friday 30 October, with a second optional day on Saturday 31 October. The conference is being staged in conjunction with the Bathurst Community Climate Action Network (BCCAN), and will examine growing food as a way of addressing sustainability issues through school curricula and the development of practical skills. One of the conference organisers, Ms Jan Page, from the CSU School of Teacher Education at Bathurst, said, “With food being the largest component of many individuals’ ecological footprints, growing food not only addresses health issues but also provides a framework to develop knowledge and skills for individuals to reduce their footprint by living more sustainably.” As well as educators from pre-school to tertiary level, members of the Bathurst region community are invited to attend.

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Ms Jan Page. The 2009 Education for Sustainability: connecting classrooms and communities conference will be held at CSU at Bathurst on 30 October in the James Hardie Room at the Centre for Professional Development (building S17). Anyone interested in attending should contact Ms Jan Page on 6338 4367 or email jpage@csu.edu.au . The conference presentations will include a keynote address by Ms Ange Barry, CEO of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, Ms Rachel Conolan, a parent with children at South Bathurst Public School, speaking about the school’s community garden, and Mr David Menzies, assistant principal at Glenroi Heights Public School in Orange, speaking about worm farms and the school’s vegetable garden.
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13 Oct 2009
A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has been named as a finalist in The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year 2009 awards. Mr Ryan Aggiss, from Flying Fish Cove winery in the Margaret River region in West Australia, is one of the 10 finalists. The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year awards aims to encourage and recognise excellence in young winemakers in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Aggiss is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) student studying by distance education through the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga. At Flying Fish Cove since 2007, the CSU student was made Winemaker the following year. “It is a great honour to be named as a finalist and to represent my state in the awards,” said Mr Aggiss. “I am looking forward to getting my degree and continuing to develop my career in the industry and believe my studies have helped greatly in my development as a winemaker.” Dr Andrew Clarke, wine science course coordinator in the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, said, “Ryan is well deserving of this nomination. In particular, he is well known by Charles Sturt University academic staff for his excellent palate and perceptive insights into wine production processes.”

Media Officer	: Fiona Halloran
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: The winner of The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year 2009 will be named on Friday 20 November at a ceremony in Sydney. Mr Aggiss also spent seven years working with the Hardy wine company in the Margaret River, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale before an internship in the United States.
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13 Oct 2009
The Sprung Festival of 12 productions by third-year theatre/media students from the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Communication, was launched at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC) on Tuesday 6 October. One of the festival’s production coordinators, Ms Erica Heller-Wagner, said a crowd of Bathurst residents and university students attended the launch held in conjunction with a Local Stages soiree. “During the soiree, in which local artists also performed, snippets of the Sprung Festival productions, which range from more conventional dramatic plays, to short films and physical theatre, were shown. These included previews of the theatre and physical theatre shows, and trailers of the films and television pilots,” Ms Heller-Wagner said. Tickets to Sprung Festival shows are $5 child/concession/student and $7 adult. For information and bookings call 0414 223 659.

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Physical Theatre: 'Submerged', 5-7 November, Trevitt Pavilion, Bathurst Showground, 8pm
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13 Oct 2009
Survey figures show that National Radio News (NRN) which is compiled and broadcast 365-days a year by Charles Sturt University (CSU) journalism students at Bathurst has a weekly audience of 1.35 million adult listeners. “Not a bad result for a ‘bunch of kids in a country town’,” said NRN manager Mr Peter Hetherington. “NRN has had a real flurry of enquiries from potential new subscriber stations, with a number coming from regional areas, while others have come from key markets including suburban Sydney and the Gold Coast. NRN now has close to 90 subscriber stations right across Australia, which is about 50 per cent of all stations in the Community Radio Network. This makes NRN the most popular news service in the community radio sector, and one of the most ‘listened to’ news services of any broadcaster in Australia.” Mr Hetherington also noted that some NRN cadets had recently taken up professional roles at major regional radio stations, which was further proof of the value of the training radio cadets gain at NRN.

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with NRN manager Mr Peter Hetherington. The survey figures are from the McNair Ingenuity National Listener Survey.
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07 Oct 2009

Media Officer	: Wes Ward
Telephone	: 02 6051 9906

Media Note: For interviews, contact CSU Media.
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07 Oct 2009
Dance is the message this week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga when Mr Philip Piggin from Canberra Dance Theatre visits Albury. Mr Piggin will present a public lecture, entitled ’Why Dance? A short taste of the learning, empowerment and joy that can be found through dance’, on Wednesday 7 October in the Cliff Blake auditorium at CSU’s Thurgoona site. “Visiting artists enhance the culture of our campus and the wider community also benefits by participating in sessions with the artist. Philip Piggin has a strong connection to the CSU community and Albury-Wodonga,” said acting Head of the Murray School of Education, Ms Jenni Munday. Mr Piggin will take dance workshops with CSU students from the Murray School of Education and the School of Community Health, the new ‘home of dance’ at CSU to be located in the new School of Community Health building at Thurgoona.

Media Officer	: Wes Ward
Telephone	: 02 6051 9906

Media Note: For interviews and pictures with Mr Philip Piggin, contact CSU Media.
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07 Oct 2009

Fourteen students enrolled in ecotourism at Charles Sturt University (CSU) had the opportunity to tour East Timor for two weeks, investigating and experiencing tourism and community development. Led by CSU senior lecturer in ecotourism, Dr Rik Thwaites, the students found an undeveloped country outside the capital Dili, with problems in providing suitable food, infrastructure and transport for tourism. “We always felt welcome and were treated with the utmost respect, even though the average villager outside of Dili was very poor being mainly subsistence farmers and fishers,” said third year student Sarah Ridgway. “On Atauro Island [off the main island], they had a different understanding of tourism to international visitors. The sense of tradition and community is very strong in these isolated areas and Western attitudes were actively discouraged among the villagers, so these cultural differences will be a major challenge for the future development of sustainable tourism in regions outside Dili.”

Media Officer	: Wes Ward
Telephone	: 02 6051 9906

Media Note: For interviews and pictures with Dr Rik Thwaites and CSU students involved in the East Timor trip, contact CSU Media. Students from CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences are preparing to travel to Nepal for one month late in November to investigate environmental issues around the Annapurna Conservation Area and Chitwan National Park.
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06 Oct 2009
As part of a national research project involving Charles Sturt University (CSU), a workshop will be held at Corowa on Wednesday 7 October to seek community input about the challenges faced by local and regional governance bodies in the region. The workshop is one of three case studies conducted across Australia as part of the three year project, Towards Sustainable Regional Institutions: The Nature, Role and Governance Implications of Contemporary Australian Regionalism. CSU researcher Associate Professor Ian Gray is surveying public attitudes and opinions about how federalism is working. “Overall the project will work out what sort of direction regional governments in Australia might take. We’re not advocating that we get rid of the states, but we are looking at the performance of regional organisations with a view to strengthening them. This inevitably leads to rethinking the roles of each level of government,” he said. Associate Professor Gray believes the formation of catchment management authorities has, unintentionally, made regional governance more prominent, even though they have no legislative role. “The Commonwealth’s new Regional Development Australia network is also highlighting the significance of regions,” he said.

Media Officer	: Kate Roberts
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Associate Professor Ian Gray, a researcher with the Institute of Land, Water and Society at CSU. The Regional Governance Futures Workshop will be held on Wednesday 7 October at the RSL Club, 30 Betterment Parade in Corowa from 9am to 5pm. The Riverina and Murray Regional Organisation of Councils (RAMROC) and the Alliance of the Councils and Shires of the Upper Murray (ACSUM) are local partners in the research project. The workshop is being hosted by Corowa Shire Council. Towards Sustainable Regional Institutions: The Nature, Role and Governance Implications of Contemporary Australian Regionalism is funded by the Australian Research Council and led by Griffith University. Professor AJ Brown of Griffith University will address the workshop and is available for interview on 0414 782 331.
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06 Oct 2009
Paramedics from around NSW and interested academics will attend a workshop at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Wednesday 7 October to foster research in the management and operation of ambulance services. Associate Professor Peter O’Meara, the Associate Head of the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences at Bathurst, said, “CSU is hosting the Pre-hospital Research Workshop with the aim to enhance research opportunities that might lead to improved service delivery and outcomes. This is an expanding field with much potential for practical action research”. Workshop participants will explore the formulation of research questions and hear research presentations about qualitative and quantitative research from Professor O’Meara and from two prominent visiting academics; Professor Malcolm Woollard, the Visiting Professor of Pre-hospital from Coventry University in the United Kingdom, and Mr Lawrence Brown, from the United States, a Research Fellow at James Cook University in Queensland.

Media Officer	: Bruce Andrews
Telephone	: 02 63386084

Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Associate Professor Peter O’Meara. The Pre-hospital Research Workshop will be held at the Centre for Professional Development at CSU at Bathurst from 12.30pm Wednesday 7 October.
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06 Oct 2009

Media Officer	: Holly-Amber Manning
Telephone	: 02 6365 7813

Media Note: For interviews or more information please contact CSU Media.
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06 Oct 2009
A final-year Charles Sturt University (CSU) student who lives on a farm near Wagga Wagga has taken out a national cropping competition aimed at fine-tuning the skills of university students. Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) student Mr Sandy Middleton from the School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga took out the inaugural Australian University Crops Competition held at Temora from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September. “This is an excellent achievement for Sandy with tough competition from seven universities,” said Associate Professor John Kent, Head of the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences. He has also praised the level of coaching by agronomy lecturer Dr Sergio Moroni and technical officer Mr Richard Early. The competition aimed to increase the technical knowledge and skills development of university undergraduates studying in the field of agriculture, and to increase the awareness of the cropping industry as a career opportunity. . As one of the top five students in the inaugural competition, Mr Middleton has won a four day study tour to New Zealand.

Media Officer	: Fiona Halloran
Telephone	: 02 6933 2207

Media Note: The Australian University Crops Competition was organised by Grain Growers Association with sponsor Syngenta Crop Protection and supported by funding from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under the Australia’s Farming Future program. Student Mr Sandy Middleton is due to return to the Wagga Wagga Campus after the mid-semester break on Tuesday 6 October.
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