During International Year of Chemistry 2011, the role chemistry plays in telling us about changes in the world around us is the focus of a seminar at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Monday 18 July. The seminar, entitled Chemistry in the real world – from nanotechnology to freshwater ecology, will showcase research in chemistry in the University’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences. Senior lecturer Dr Paul Prenzler said the study of chemistry helps us to have a better understanding of what is happening in the real world. “Underlying our health as humans and the health of the environment around us are chemical processes that can take place at very small or ‘nano’ levels or large scales, such as water quality in rivers,” he said. The seminar will discuss antioxidants and human health, river and soil health, along with wine colour and quality.

University students from around Australia will gather for five days at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga next month to discuss the future of food, water and climate for a sustainable world. The 2011 Students of Sustainability (SoS) conference will be held from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 July. The annual event includes forums and workshops on various sustainability topics which will demonstrate how theory and practice can be used to make positive social and environmental changes. Other topics to be covered include anti-nuclear developments, and the Australian Student Environment Network. Conference activities also include hands-on workshops, updates on current campaigns, Do-It-Yourself sustainability skill sharing, music performances, lectures and local excursions. This year is the twentieth anniversary of the SoS conference, and the first time it has been held in a regional city since 1997.

A national conference for Australian pharmacy students will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga in 2012. Members of the University’s student club, Pharmers' Society  won a competitive bid to host the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association or NAPSA Congress in January 2012. “Our successful bid to host this national event is sweetened by the fact this is the first time the annual NAPSA conference will be held in a regional centre,” fourth year CSU pharmacy student Mr Sean Dodd said. “We are very proud that the event will be held in inland Australia. It is a vote of confidence in those of us that choose to live, study and ultimately pursue our chosen profession in regional Australia to improve health services,” pharmacy student Ms Amy Minett said. “The work has now begun to stage a relevant and cutting edge conference in Wagga Wagga for more than 200 students from 13 universities,” Mr Dodd said. Head of CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences Associate Professor Lyndall Angel said, “Again the pharmacy students at Charles Sturt University have shone and shown their maturity and dedication to serve rural and regional Australia”. Read more about the NAPSA Congress Wagga Wagga 2012  here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students are taking their interest in environmental sustainability to the next step through a training program to help them make a positive difference in the workplace. On Friday 21 September, 11 students, including two distance education students from Queensland, will take part in the Green Steps training program being held at CSU in Albury-Wodonga.  It’s part of a six day program during which students will learn how to conduct an environmental audit for waste, water, energy and carbon use.  Identifying incentives for organisational change and communication skills are also covered in the training. Ms Nicola Smith from CSU Green said, “Green Steps also offers students the opportunity to apply and develop these skills in a professional workplace through an internship program.” Green Steps at CSU is a partnership between CSU Green and the Monash Sustainability Institute.

The expenses of attending university have been demystified in a new booklet published by Charles Sturt University (CSU), giving students the power of understanding when it comes to their study options. CSU’s Student Equity and diversity officer, Ms Carissa Perkins is excited to launch the publication. “The Making University Affordable booklet was developed by Charles Sturt University to instil a sense of empowerment, arming students with the knowledge they need to plan and succeed at university,” Ms Perkins said. “Making University Affordable addresses the costs to consider when thinking about further study and how to plan for them, and demonstrates how attending university increases future job prospects and earning capacity. The booklet helps, no matter what life stage students are in. Whether they are a school leaver, wanting a change of career, are returning to work or looking at increasing their skills, this booklet aims to inform those who presently feel future study is beyond their means by showing them practical and achievable ways they can make it happen.”

Thousands of native trees and shrubs will be planted on Charles Sturt University (CSU) campuses as its staff and students help mark National Tree Day. CSU Green, in collaboration with the Slopes to Summit partnership, has organised for around 1 000 native trees, shrubs and grasses to be planted on the University’s Thurgoona site on Friday morning 29 July by nearly 50 students and staff from nearby Trinity College. CSU has set targets of using 10 per cent of University land to increase biodiversity by 2011, and 20 per cent by 2015. CSU Green communication and education officer, Ms Nicole Maher said it is a practical way for people to make a difference to the local environment. “It’s really satisfying to walk past the site in the months and years that follow, and watch the plants you put in growing into a beautiful natural area,” she said. “By getting involved in something like this, people get a far greater appreciation for the incredible native flora and fauna that we have right here on our campuses.”

The solitude of US servicemen serving in the Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan and Russian coasts are seen in 24 arresting images of war depicting the Kiska battlefield through the lens of US master craftsman and artist Mr Sam Maloof. These have also been re-visited by contemporary artist and Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Associate Professor Dirk Spennemann in 24 corresponding photographs. The exhibition, titled Solitude Recaptured opened on 23 July at March Field Air Museum at Riverside, California, USA. “While Sam Maloof is well known as a master craftsman of fine mid-century furniture, this exhibition shows he already had an ‘artist’s eye’ when he was a young soldier,” Professor Spennemann said. “It was a great opportunity to ‘re-vision’ Kiska 60 years later and to exhibit alongside Maloof’s images”. This travelling exhibit was developed by the US National Park Service Alaska Regional Office, The Aleutian WW II National Historic Area and CSU. The exhibit runs until Saturday 3 December.

If you are over 65 and you have had a fall in that past 12 months, or are a relative or friend of someone who has, you can take part in research at Charles Sturt University (CSU) that looks at your experiences related to the fall. Ms Kristy Robson, a podiatry academic with the CSU’s School of Community Health  and Centre for Inland Health is looking for participants specifically from Albury, Corowa, Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Coleambally, Boorowa, Young and Moama as part of her PhD research project. Ms Robson, who is based in Albury, said it is estimated that between 30 and 60 per cent of older people living in the community will experience a fall each year. “It is therefore important we try and understand why this is occurring, particularly for people living in inland communities of Australia. Most current research is based on the opinions of health experts. We want to collect stories from diverse inland communities which have widely spread people and health services. Programs developed for metropolitan situations might not be appropriate for our regional communities.” To participate in the CSU research project, contact Ms Wendy Rose Davison on telephone (02) 6051 9232.

A senior Nepali forester will discuss his ideas on who owns the forests of Asia and the implications of this ownership when he visits Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga this week. Dr Ganga Dahal, who is the Asian facilitator for the Rights and Resources Initiative in Bangkok, Thailand, is visiting the University’s School of Environmental Sciences to meet with CSU staff and research students, as well as presenting a public seminar titled Who controls the forests? Exploring community forestry in Asia. Dr Dahal said control and ownership of local forests is at the core of community forestry as it seeks to enhance local livelihoods. “Community forestry is widely promoted throughout Asia, however local communities often have insecure tenure over their traditional forests,” said Dr Dahal, who will explore the current status and changes in forest tenure in Asia, and the implications for community forestry at this seminar. Visit coordinator at CSU, Dr Digby Race, believes international visitors are important for the research and teaching programs of institutions such as CSU. “Having visitors like Dr Dahal is vital for exchanging experiences and ideas. It helps connect our local knowledge to global issues, and for our solutions to be informed by international lessons,” Dr Race said.