Aboriginal high school boys in Albury are being shown a bright future through a project being run in coming weeks by the NSW Department of Education and Communities, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and local Aboriginal men from Albury-Wodonga.  Mr Brett Biles, an Aboriginal man and CSU academic, is involved in the BroSpeak program facilitated by Mr Matthew Hogan from Murray High School to present local Aboriginal high school students at Murray High School with perspectives on personal growth and career options. “We are helping these students on their journey to develop life skills and identify and connect with their culture while encouraging the boys to engage with school. The program involves Aboriginal men from the local community providing advice, education and their stories on being successful and proud Aboriginal men,” Mr Biles said. CSU is helping expand the program by bussing Aboriginal students from Albury and James Fallon High Schools to also take part in BroSpeak. Albury Thunder Rugby League Club and Melbourne Storm are sponsoring the program with the BroSpeak group heading to Melbourne for a Melbourne Storm home game to speak with the Aboriginal players with Melbourne Storm before viewing the game on Sunday 25 August.

Early results from research run at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga have shown that reduced blood flow in people affected by the common diseases diabetes and hypertension may be due to altered shapes and numbers of red blood cells. Dr Ross Richards and PhD student Mr Prajwal Gyawali, with CSU’s School of Community Health, said 3.6 million Australians now have diabetes, with three in five of these also suffering from heart diseases, both of which affect blood flow. “I am now aiming to verify these initial findings on the changed shapes of red blood cells, which will require more participants in my study.” Mr Gyawali is calling for additional residents from Albury-Wodonga to take part in his research, which will help assess the severity and progression of diabetes and high blood pressure, and may also contribute to a better understanding of possible causes of these diseases. During a once-only, 30 minute visit to a research room at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Mr Gyawali will ask participants about their medical problems, dietary habits and medications, take body and blood pressure measurements and blood and urine samples for testing. To take part in the project, contact Mr Prajwal Gyawali on mobile 0414 932 057 or send an email.

Organisers of the annual BioBlitz are keen to see members of the Border community take part in scientific surveys of native wildlife found in national parks, reserves and private properties around Woomargama and Mullengandra, north of Albury. Ecologists from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Environmental Sciences will lead groups between Friday 6 and Sunday 8 September to survey native mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and fish, including endangered animals such as the Squirrel Glider Possum and the Spotted Quoll. Event coordinator Mr Sam Niedra from the Slope to Summit Partnership  (which includes CSU), said the weekend activities will include wildlife walks, talks, demonstrations and children’s activities, as well as a celebration of National Threatened Species Day on Saturday 7 September. “We are also holding a nature photography workshop on Saturday 7 September, run by experienced photographer Esther Beaton,” Mr Niedra said. The first day on Friday 6 September has been set aside for school groups, with the general community encouraged to enjoy free camping and facilities available around the Woomargama Community Hall and in the Woomargama National Park.

Two academics from Albury have won top honours in annual awards from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann. Lecturer with CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences, Dr Rosemary Black has won the individual Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Professional Excellence, while Dr Jenni Munday, the Associate Head of the School of Education, won the individual Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr Munday said her award shows that universities such as CSU can provide high quality distance education that is “student-centred, collaborative and constructive, and along with the excellent work we do with the students we teach face-to-face on-campus”.  Dr Black received her award for her long commitment and significant contribution to environmental interpretation and tour guiding as a practitioner, teacher and researcher. Dr Black has had roles on international, national and regional committees such as the International Union for Conservation and Nature, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Interpretation Australia and Guiding Organisations of Australia. They will receive their awards from Professor Vann at a ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 28 August. Read about other 2013 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards on CSU News here.

The quest to capture the quintessential image of Wangaratta has led to a number of high quality images which also highlight the growing partnership between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) in the region. GOTAFE design students have captured photographic images of Wangaratta to assist with marketing the presence and courses of CSU in Wangaratta. A prize of $100 per image has been provided by CSU for the competition, which was won by Ms Cassandra Pollock, Ms Paige Milne and Mr Phillip Watt, who will receive their prizes at GOTAFE in Wangaratta on Wednesday 11 September. Manager of CSU’s Wangaratta centre Ms Robyn Farley said: “This is another example of the strength of the GOTAFE-CSU partnership, where we can work together to maximise opportunities and outcomes for regional students”. GOTAFE photography teacher Warren Tait, added “The quality of the images taken by these students was excellent, and evidence of their skills in understanding a photography design brief and then taking images to meet that brief”.

With the car traffic growing around Thurgoona and on its campus, Charles Sturt University (CSU) recently completed research to study how staff and students travelled to and from the Albury-Wodonga campus and why they travelled the way they did. Research project coordinator and social researcher Dr Shelby Gull Laird said many CSU staff and students indicated they would like to ride a bicycle or ride a bus instead or driving their car, but not all of them. Convenience and necessity were the main reasons that over 60 per cent of travellers chose their car as their main means of getting to work and study at CSU. Only five per cent currently travel by bicycle and six per cent by bus. “With over 20 per cent of respondents travelling from outside Albury-Wodonga city limits to work and study, this provides a barrier to a large increase in the use of buses and bikes. However, a number of people who live in Albury-Wodonga said they used their bikes or bus as their ‘second’ mode of transport, so we need to see what it will take to make them change their main modes of transport out to Thurgoona,” Mr Maher said. The research will help point to ways that show how CSU can become carbon ‘neutral’ by 2015. The research was carried out in 2012 and 2013 by Dr Gull Laird and Dr Rosemary Black from CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences.

A program to advance Charles Sturt University (CSU) as a leader in higher education teaching and learning will be launched in Bathurst on Tuesday 17 September. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Garry Marchant, said, “Given the ongoing growth of student numbers and evolution of the higher education sector due to theoretical and technological developments, the launch of ‘Smart Learning’ will enable a stronger professionalised teaching focus to improve student engagement and maintain high-quality teaching standards at the University. With the implementation of Smart Learning, Charles Sturt University will lead the way in higher education learning and teaching innovation.” Information about Smart Learning and the next steps in establishing this program will be presented at the launch at The Grange, CSU in Bathurst at 3pm on Tuesday 17 September.

Aboriginal boys from Murray, James Fallon and Albury high schools in Albury will get a glimpse of their own paths in tertiary education when they discuss future study options at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga on Friday 13 September. The 2013 BroSpeak project will finish with a barbeque for participants and speakers, including Mr Brett Biles, who is an Aboriginal man and CSU academic involved in the BroSpeak program which was facilitated by Mr Matthew Hogan from Murray High School. “We are helping these students on their journey to develop life skills and identify and connect with their culture, while encouraging the boys to engage with school. This visit is important in providing these boys with educational goals that they can achieve locally,” Mr Biles said. The BroSpeak project has been run over six weeks by the NSW Department of Education and Communities, CSU and local Aboriginal men from Albury-Wodonga. “The program involves Aboriginal men from the local community providing advice, education and their stories on being successful and proud Aboriginal men, including those involved in tertiary education,” Mr Biles said.

Exposing young school students to important health and safety messages is the focus of a cooperative effort between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and West Albury Primary School at the annual Health and Safety Education Expo. Around 70 students enrolled in CSU’s early childhood education degree will present hands-on learning experiences and displays to 70 children between Kindergarten and Year 2, who will practise snake awareness, healthy eating, escaping an imaginary fire, and will even discover how get a good nights sleep. "CSU students are involved in 'hands on' teaching and learning with the local community. The students researched their topics with the help of local community professionals and prepared interactive experiences for the young school children. The Expo emphasises the importance of giving young children support to promote their own wellbeing from a very young age," said early childhood education lecturer, Angela Fenton, from CSU’s School of Education. West Albury Public School will host the Health and Safety Education Expo between 9.30 and 11.00am on Friday 13 September.