Charles Sturt University (CSU) has made a $4 000 Community-University Partnership (CUP) grant to the Cathedral of St Michael and St John Restoration Committee in Bathurst.Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Associate Professor Chika Anyanwu, said, "The preservation of our regional cultural and historical heritage is part of our Community-University Partnership goals."We are proud to make a little contribution towards the restoration of the Cathedral, which is the second oldest Catholic Cathedral in continuous use in Australia."On another level, the participation of CSU Engineering students on the project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a project which teaches them how to work around engineering challenges, which by the nature of its heritage status, demands solutions around complex problems with limited flexibility."Chairman of the Cathedral of St Michael and St John Restoration Project Committee, Mr Phil Burgett, said the CUP grant is a tangible sign of the University's desire to be involved in the restoration of the Cathedral and its commitment to the city of Bathurst."The CSU CUP Community Grants Programme grant provides a valuable and timely contribution to the costs associated with landscaping works and proposed changes to the interior of the Cathedral to solve the factors contributing to the deterioration of the building," he said.In 2016 the Cathedral of St Michael and St John Restoration Committee developed concept plans for the next major phases of the restoration project.This included a series of consultation meetings with parishioners and stakeholder groups, to brief them on the plans and formally survey the level of satisfaction in their observations and feedback.The outcomes included a high level of engagement and satisfaction with the proposals and provided valuable ideas for further refinement.Mr Burgett said the association with the University through the CUP grants program has fostered an exciting dialogue with CSU's Engineering program."This will hopefully see Charles Sturt University student engineers undertaking project work on the Cathedral as a component of their studies to provide innovative design and construction solutions to the challenges of restoring the Cathedral," Mr Burgett said."This aims to advance a practical and constructive relationship between the University and the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst."Applications for CUP rural and regional arts grants and the Head of Campus small grants opens on Monday 27 February. Further information about CUP is available here.