Around 20 students from the Belvoir Specialist School in Wodonga, Victoria, will tour Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Thurgoona site on Friday 16 May to study the local environment and how we can reduce our environmental ‘footprint’. The tour by CSU environmental education lecturer Mr John Rafferty will also include students enrolled in CSU education degrees offered by the Murray School of Education. “The students from the Belvoir Specialist School have been learning about the role of science and technology in understanding and investigating our local environment. Now they can see it in action on our campus,” Mr Rafferty said. The CSU Thurgoona site has won numerous NSW, national and international awards for its buildings and water management systems, which aim to reduce water and power use and wastage across the campus.

Third year adventure ecotourism student at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mr Peter Barrett has won a Student Achiever Award, to be presented by Tourism Training Australia next week. The award is for students who show outstanding academic and community leadership qualities in their education. Mr Barrett’s academic record has already been recognised through winning the 2006 Albury Freemasons Prize for Academic Excellence as a first year student. He is currently president of the CSU students’ Parks and Eco Club and represents CSU students on the Thurgoona Campus Environmental Advisory Committee. Peter Barrett has also gained practical work experience in Canberra and the United States as a team leader. He will receive his award at a dinner in Sydney on Tuesday 13 May.

Construction of the new 200-bed residential development for Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will commence this month at its Thurgoona site. To be built by Joss Constructions, ten modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings will each house 20 students in self-catering accommodation. The development will include ‘open plan’ kitchens and living areas in each block, with two buildings enclosing an open courtyard. The corrugated iron, which is light, strong, adaptable and durable, highlights the heritage of Australian agricultural buildings while shielding the internal concrete walls from the summer heat. This will enable the student accommodation buildings to maintain a more constant temperature for the residents without the use of expensive air conditioning. Rainwater collected from roofs will be used to flush toilets, while wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms or grey water will be pumped into the existing grey water treatment ponds on the CSU Thurgoona site. The buildings are due to be finished in time for the start of the 2009 academic year. Other buildings already underway at Thurgoona include academic offices and the Learning Commons, which will house a library and computing facilities.

Award-winning poet, Ms Petra White returns to the Albury-Wodonga and Riverina regions in May for public poetry readings and workshops hosted by the Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Her first poetry collection, The Incoming Tide, published by John Leonard Press in 2007 , was short listed for Arts Queensland's Judith Wright Calanthe Prize for Poetry. In 2003, Ms White was joint winner of the Patricia Hackett Prize for her poem 'Grave' and her poems were published in The Best Australian Poems series in 2003 and 2006. “Petra's work was very well received when she came to Wagga Wagga with the Poets-On-Wheels tour last year. This time, as well as reading her poetry, Petra will be running workshops for poets and mentoring a local poet.  Poets of all ages and backgrounds will be able to further develop their writing skills and read their poems in front of an audience,” said the Booranga Writers’ Centre’s Mr David Gilbey. Ms White will read her poetry at the Albury City Library on Thursday 8 May at 5.30pm and at an open mike event at the Wagga Wagga City Library on Monday 12 May at 6.30pm. She will lead poetry writing workshops at Booranga Writers Centre, Wagga Wagga on Saturday 10 May and in Griffith on Sunday 11 May. Ms White is hosted by Booranga Writers’ Centre and her visit is jointly funded by CSU and Arts NSW.

The importance of research into a major Australian agricultural and environmental weed - serrated tussock - has been acknowledged with a national scholarship awarded to Charles Sturt University (CSU) student, Ms Sonia Graham. The PhD student is one of two university students in Australia to be awarded the three year, $15 000 AW Howard Memorial Research Fellowship. Presented to the Canberra-based Ms Graham by AW Howard Memorial Trust chairman, Professor Rob Lewis, the fellowship will be used to assist with her research. Serrated tussock has spread across farming lands making large areas of NSW and Victoria unproductive. Ms Graham’s study looks at the ways farmers and State and local governments work together to control the weed. The AW Howard Memorial Research Fellowship commemorates the unique contribution of the late South Australian farmer, Mr Amos Howard, in the use of subterranean clover as a major pasture plant in Australia. 

Outstanding academic performance by Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate Mr David Waters for his research into the world’s tallest flowering plant, the Mountain Ash, has seen him receive the highly prized Charles Sturt University Medal. Mr Waters, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries in Wagga Wagga, was presented the medal while receiving his first class honours in his Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Horticulture). The medal allows CSU to give special recognition each year to graduates whose academic performances are “superlative”. Mr Waters’ research involved an anatomical examination of the epicormic structure of the Mountain Ash or Eucalyptus regnans. The species regenerates by seed after high intensity fire, in the mountainous regions of Victoria and Tasmania. Previously, there have been suggestions that its poor re-sprouting ability was due to a lack of epicormic buds that have been found in other eucalypts. However, the research proved conclusively that the species has an epicormic structure typical of other eucalypts. “David has provided a unique perspective on why Mountain Ash can resprout in some circumstances but not others,” said CSU senior lecturer and research supervisor, Dr Geoff Burrows.

‘Get tussock before tussock gets you’ is the topic of a free information session about the destructive weed. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Aaron Simmons has been passionate about pest and weed control since beginning his PhD at the CSU’s Orange Campus in 2003. Now he and fellow associate Ms Linda Ayres, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries, will discuss with farmers the factors associated with successful serrated tussock control. Serrated tussock is regarded as one of the worst weeds in Australia’s agricultural areas. Because of its invasiveness, it spreads potential economic and environmental impacts costing Australia more than $55 million a year. The information session will be held from 8am to 10am on Tuesday 29 April in the hall at Euchareena, north of Orange. A free breakfast is available. RSVPs are essential. Contact Dr Aaron Simmons on 6365 7630 or send an email.

Celebrating ten years of educating physiotherapists and speech pathologists at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be combined with a ceremony in Albury this week to highlight the achievements of current students. The existing CSU students from the School of Community Health will receive recognition for their academic excellence through the Dean’s Awards. They will be presented by CSU’s Dean of Science, Professor Nick Klomp in a ceremony at CSU’s Albury City site on Wednesday 23 April. During the same ceremony, CSU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Ian Goulter will join past and current staff and students to commemorate the start of the physiotherapy and speech pathology courses at CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus 10 years ago. Both courses have produced over 200 graduates each. More than 60 per cent of those graduates have commenced their professional careers in regional Australia, helping address the allied health professional skills shortage across Australia. Early CSU physiotherapy graduates now hold senior posts in Victorian and NSW health services and are also involved with elite sports teams such as the Matildas national women’s football team. Both ceremonies will be held in front of The Cedar, CSU, Olive St, Albury, between 10.30am and 12noon on Wednesday 23 April.

It was a family affair when Winemaker and Managing Director of Casella Wines, John Casella, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in April 2008. Dr Casella received the doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the Australian wine industry, particularly through the creation of new export markets, the economic health of the Riverina region of NSW, and to wine education and research programs at CSU. Founded in 1969 by his parents, Filippo and Maria Casella, Casella Wines dramatically increased production under Dr Casella, who also oversaw the launch of the [yellow tail] brand into the United States in 2001. The [yellow tail] brand is the most successful launch of an Australian wine brand in the history of the Australian wine industry. In addition to praise of his management of the family business, Dr Casella was honoured for his commitment to developing the skills and capacity of young people in the Riverina. He attended the CSU graduation ceremony in Wagga Wagga with his parents, his wife and four children.