Leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) ecologist Associate Professor David Watson is part of a vocal group of Australian researchers who fear our parks will become playgrounds for the rich rather than reserves for Australia’s endangered plants and animals. Professor Watson believes the central issue is the “current gross mismanagement of our national parks by States and Territories that runs completely counter to the entire rational of national parks. They are set to be used for drought relief fodder, mining, recreational shooting and increased recreational development in three states. This spells very bad news for ecological systems that are already teetering on the edge,” he said. His comments follow a joint letter by the group on The Conversation website, and support for their concerns by the federal Minister for the Environment, The Hon Tony Burke reported on Thursday 30 May.

A stark reminder of the dangers of drink driving has been parked near busy roads at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga. Badly damaged cars have been parked at the front entrance to CSU in Thurgoona and on Valder Way at CSU in Wagga. Posters attached to the damaged cars depict the consequences of drink driving. It is an initiative of the University’s Health Promotion Service as part of Drug Awareness Month at CSU in May. The theme for Drug Awareness Month in 2013 is ‘Drink Driving’. Health Promotion Officer Ms Coleen Pearce said, “We are attempting to remind Charles Sturt University students of the perils of drink driving on the day of, and also the day after, any event. The program for Drug Awareness Month is based on the Plan B campaign in NSW to combat drink driving. We are reinforcing the message that students need to plan ahead when they go out. Our program throughout the month includes flyers on car windscreens and behind toilet doors, covers over unattended drinks, activities with drink simulation goggles and information stalls with free merchandise. We will be also marking World No Tobacco Day on Friday 31 May.”

Psychologist, social researcher and novelist Mr Hugh Mackay will tackle the question of 'What makes a life worth living?' when he delivers the first Charles Sturt University (CSU) Explorations public lecture in Albury on Wednesday 8 May. Mr Mackay has spent his working life asking Australians about their values, motivations, ambitions, hopes and fears. “The good life is not the sum of our security, wealth, and levels of happiness,” he said. “It is one defined by our capacity for selflessness, the quality of our relationships and our willingness to connect with others in a useful way.” In the public lecture Mr Mackay will explore our pursuit of pleasure, our attempts to perfect ourselves and our children, and our conviction that we can have our lives under control.

Primary school and early childhood educators from Albury-Wodonga will discuss Australian children starting school with researchers from Iceland, Scotland, Sweden and New Zealand as well as leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) education academics on Tuesday 9 April at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. The seminar, which runs from 3.30 to 6pm at CSU’s School of Education, will see local and international visitors discuss the strengths, challenges and anticipation children, their families and their educators face as the children make the transiton to school. One of the event coordinators, Professor Sue Dockett, said the seminar is part of a four year international project involving education researchers from Europe, Australia and New Zealand that is using international comparisons to investigate how children start school. A second, similar meeting will be on Wednesday 17 April at CSU to address these topics.

A student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga with plenty of hair on show has challenged fellow students across the University to match his dedication by undertaking a ‘full body cut and wax’ to raise money for the NSW Leukaemia Foundation. Environmental studies student Mr Jack Fry is going to bear all for this year’s Shave for Cancer including his head, chest, back, legs and arms, for this important cause. “I have family members who have battled cancer, and I want people and businesses to join me in opening their hearts and wallets for research that could help find cures for this disease,” Mr Fry said. Albury residents can witness Mr Fry lose his shoulder length locks, and much more, at the ‘G’, next to the Gums Café, at CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 14 March from 8.15pm. Matilda from uZuri Beauty & Hair in Lavington is supplying free labour and wax for the event, which will include supporting acts from other students.

Faculty of Science students from nearly all campuses of Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be recognised for their academic excellence in the coming week. Acting Executive Dean of Science, Professor Heather Cavanagh, is due to present the Dean’s List academic prizes to more than 80 students from the Schools of Community Health, Environmental Sciences and Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Studies, all of which are based at Charles Sturt University in Albury-Wodonga. “Attaining this award is a major achievement for students.  The Dean’s Award recognises the hard work undertaken to achieve a consistent standard of excellence by students in their studies,” Professor Cavanagh said. The event will commence at 3.30pm on Wednesday 13 March at The ‘G’, next to the Gum’s Café, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona. Dean’s Awards are presented to all CSU students who receive at least distinction level grades for four courses in one semester.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) psychologist and member of Australian Skeptics is challenging local water diviners to demonstrate their powers at the Mitta Muster at Mitta Mitta on Sunday 10 March. The first diviner to successfully demonstrate their paranormal ability of ‘divining’ water under controlled conditions will be eligible to win $110 000 from the national group Australian Skeptics. Dr Krissy Wilson, with CSU's School of Psychology said the prize is a standing offer that has been available for a number of years to anyone able to demonstrate a paranormal ability, including divining for water, gold and other materials, as well as psychic and clairvoyant powers and the like. The Mitta Muster Challenge will be only for water divining. “Contestants who score beyond ‘chance’ in the initial test will be eligible for a further challenge at a time, place and under testing conditions agreed between Australian Skeptics and the contestant. Successful candidates at this second challenge will be eligible to claim the prize,” Dr Wilson said. Dr Wilson will be at the Mitta Muster from 10am to oversee the initial tests for all who would like to demonstrate their water divining powers. To register for the Mitta Muster Challenge, click here.

Agricultural industries in Victoria will see a new provider in agricultural education start operations with the inaugural Orientation Day for students studying agricultural degrees at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wangaratta Centre. The event will run from 12 noon to 4pm on Tuesday 19 February at CSU partner GOTAFE’s facility in Wangaratta. Academic staff delivering the agriculture and agricultural business management degrees offered from Wangaratta will welcome the students and provide advice on the courses and study expectations. Students will learn via supported distance education and come from locations across regional Victoria. “Orientation Day is a chance for new students to meet up with their fellows at the start of their course to make important connections. They can also acquaint themselves with CSU services that can assist them in their study, including library and study support services, and see the Wangaratta facilities first-hand,” said CSU centre manager, Ms Robyn Farley. Current CSU student, Mr Tom Madden, will also speak to the new students about what to expect and how to get the most from their studies. Around 20 students studying agricultural degrees, predominantly the Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management, are expected to attend.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has stated surprise over the latest public debate about breastfeeding in public. A rally of breastfeeding woman was held in the heart of Sydney on Monday 21 January in protest against on-air comments on television show Sunrise about a need for nursing mothers to be “discreet” and “classy” when breastfeeding in public. Ms Pam Shackleton, a lecturer in nursing and midwifery from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Wagga Wagga, said, “Of course women should and will breastfeed when and where their babies demand. Modesty and discretion have nothing to do with the issue of breastfeeding. It is well established that ‘breast is best’ and as a midwife and an academic, I support the right of women to breastfeed their babies in public in a manner they see fit.  Babies don’t wait when they are hungry; breast feeding is natural and gives the little people the best start in life.  When it comes to breastfeeding, women don’t need to be told how to do it in public.”