A historical sale took place at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange last Saturday when 30 horses were auctioned at the CSU Equine Management Centre performance horse sale. The 30 lots included riding horses, mares, foals and young stock, many of which were ready to be broken in. With interest from the NSW Central West region and beyond, a large crowd of over 100 people attended the auction with phone bidders from Victoria, Queensland and Sydney also registering. Representatives from Revelwood Warmblood Stud,  at Sommersby in NSW and for Mr Heath Ryan, a member of the Olympic Equestrian team at the Beijing Olympics, purchased horses at the auction.

A visiting workplace learning academic from New Zealand, who was a Keynote speaker at the recent Practice-Based Education Summit in Sydney, has made a special visit to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange. Dr Dale Sheehan, a senior lecturer and Clinical Teaching Co-ordinator at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, will visit Orange to pass on her knowledge to CSU, a university which prides itself on offering students an enriching, supportive and high quality student experience . Dr Sheehan’s presentation addressed issues such as setting up support for students undertaking workplace learning as well as assessing and engaging with workplace learning supervisors. Attending the presentation were staff from every School on the CSU campus as well as librarians and learning skills advisers. Dr Sheehan will stay in Orange until Thursday 19 April.

A public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will shed light on the nature of the trade-offs involved in the proposed transfer of water to the environment in the Murray Darling Basin. Professor Kevin Parton a lecturer and researcher at the CSU School of Marketing and Management, is an expert commentator on the economic and social effects of the water transfer. His presentation is at 6pm Friday 20 April, and he believes there will need to be trade-offs between economic, social and environmental objectives when increasing the flows of water in the Murray-Darling system, which is Australia’s largest river system. “The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has proposed to transfer 2 750 gigalitres per year from irrigation to environmental flows,” he said. “Many farmers consider the costs of even the smallest transfer to be prohibitive, while many conservationists regard anything less than 4 000 gigalitres per year as insufficient to capture any significant environmental benefits.” Professor Parton will consider a number of findings from preliminary research in this controversial topic, including the costs to irrigation farmers, the amounts of environmental water needed, gains for Murray-Darling communities from the plan, and the effects on losers from the plan.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students with a passion for sustainability can help the University reduce its environmental footprint as part of a training and internship program.

The 2012 CSU Green Steps program  involves a week of intensive training looking at environmental issues, auditing and communication along with project planning and management. Students will then put these skills into practice in an on-campus sustainability project in conjunction with CSU Green. They can also opt to undertake an internship with an external organisation to get valuable workplace experience. Acting Manager of CSU Green Mr Edward Maher said this has benefits for students and the host organisation. “The students are highly motivated and come armed with enthusiasm and hands on training. They are ready to make a real improvement to the sustainability of their host organisation,” he said. “Green Steps also gives students an edge when it comes to commencing their professional careers.”  Students and organisations interested in hosting an intern can contact CSU Green. Green Steps at CSU is a partnership between CSU Green and the Monash Sustainability Institute.

Members of the Philosophy Group at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will stage a public philosophy performance and dinner on Tuesday 24 April to promote philosophical discussion in an amicable environment. Dr Emma Rush, a lecturer at the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences,  said, “The presentation of the topic, ‘Wisdom in the Age of Technology’, in a pleasant setting with food and wine, reflects that of a Platonic symposium. Dr Edward Spence, lecturer and researcher at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries will give a 30-minute talk on the origins and sources of wisdom in ancient Greece and its relevance and importance in our lives in the Information Age. This will be followed by a 30-minute performance of an original philosophy play, Wise After the Fact. Following the talk and the play, the audience is invited to participate through lively discussion.” The Philosophy Group at CSU runs a weekly seminar series in Wagga Wagga during academic semesters.