The successful rescue of a large animal from a road accident, mud or a deep hole carries a fresh set of skills for all those involved in an emergency, including veterinarians. Veterinary science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will be able to learn the latest in rescue techniques through a Large Animal Emergency Rescue course to be offered to CSU students by Equine Veterinarians Australia. The course, part of EVA’s continuing education program, is the first EVA has offered to veterinary science students in Australia. The course will involve lectures and simulated large animal rescues with a life size horse mannequin and a trailer at the University on Thursday 8 August. Dr Sarah Pollard-Williams from CSU’s School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences said, “The Large Animal Emergency Rescue course is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn key techniques that will help them assist in emergency situations and keep the injury risk to themselves and other handlers as low as possible. There are vital techniques that can greatly improve the animal survival rate as well in these often very challenging situations.” The 52 veterinary science students are about to embark on their final few months of clinical practice before graduation from CSU at the end of next year.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is encouraging students to pack their bags to work, travel and study overseas as part of their university degree. Representatives of CSU Global, an initiative to help students to take up international study experiences, will meet with staff and students in Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga over the next week. Manager of CSU Global Dr Shevahn Telfser said students can undertake international exchanges, short term study programs and practical placements. “In 2012 more than 340 Charles Sturt University students included an international experience as part of their degree and so far more than 250 students have travelled overseas this year,” she said. “This expands their horizons, builds contacts and gives them a competitive edge in the job market.” CSU aims to have 18 per cent or more than 700 undergraduate students undertake international study experiences by 2016.

Local artist and photographer Mr James Farley explores the landscape of the mind in his debut photographic exhibition at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery from Friday 9 August. A Bachelor of Arts (Visual and Performing Arts) (Honours) student, Mr Farley aims to take people on a journey into the unknown in Trepidation: VOID. Fellow photographer and lecturer in the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga Mr Chris Orchard will open the exhibition from 6pm to 8pm on Friday 9 August at the Gallery’s E3 art space. The exhibition of new works combines the traditions of English Romantic artist, Joseph M. W Turner and German Romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich with modern photography to create a provoking exploration into the contemporary psyche. “I have produced a collection of brooding atmospheric photographs. They are exhibited with a series of large-scale Romantic landscapes,” Mr Farley said. The photos form part of his CSU research project into the aesthetics of the contemporary Sublime, with a particular interest in the ambiguous concept of the Void.

An icon of Australian science will celebrate 100 years of scientific discovery in regional Australia at a public lecture on Thursday 15 August at the Albury Entertainment Centre. Writer, broadcaster and former federal science minister, Dr Barry Jones, will present a free public lecture as part of National Science Week to the residents of Albury-Wodonga. Dr Jones is the only person to be elected as a Fellow of Australia’s four Learned Societies representing science, engineering, humanities and social sciences. He served in state and federal parliaments from 1972 to 1998, while also serving as national president of the Australian Labor Party and representing Australia on various international committees in science and the economy. This lecture concludes National Science Week activities for 2013 planned by the Albury Wodonga Astronomical Society in collaboration with Charles Sturt University.

National Tree Day will be marked at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga with the planting of Indigenous species near student accommodation on Sunday 18 August. Organised by CSU Green, the plantings will take place from 11am near numerous Residential Cottages off Valder Way. Volunteers are urged to wear sturdy shoes and to enjoy a free BBQ hosted by Residence Life. CSU Tree Planting 2013 aims to increase the biodiversity of the area. CSU Green Partnerships Coordinator Ms Nicola Smith said, “We aim during tree planting day to increase homes and food for wildlife, reduce topsoil loss and erosion, increase soil infiltration, influence microclimate, as well as increase amenity and aesthetics”. RSVP for catering by email here.

School students will put their research skills to the test at the Graham Centre Science Investigation Awards at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 14 August. More than 50 Year 6 and Year 10 students from Ladysmith, Griffith and Wagga Wagga have designed and completed a science investigation or experiment and will present their project to a panel of judges. They will explain their hypothesis, the experiment used to test it and the findings of the research. The budding scientists will also participate in practical laboratory classes and meet with CSU and NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) researchers. Graham Centre Director, Professor Deirdre Lemerle, said the event aims to promote science education and encourage students to consider research careers. “Robust research is needed for Australian industries like agriculture to continue to be profitable and sustainable into the future,” she said. “Events like this will ensure that a new generation of scientists will be ready to meet this challenge.”

Acting and theatre design students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will go on the road to local schools with The Crucible by celebrated American playwright Arthur Miller. The University Theatre Ensemble (UTE) will present The Crucible to local HSC students. It follows two recent public performances at the Drama Studio at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The production involves final year students in Acting for Screen and Stage and final year students in Design for Theatre and Television. The play is directed by lecturer in acting, Mr Thomas Papathanassiou from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga. UTE will perform at Tumut High School on Friday 9 August, Junee High on Wednesday 14 August, Wagga High on Thursday 15 August and Kildare Catholic College on Friday 16 August. The HSC students will be able to draw on the talents of the CSU students during question and answer sessions after the play. Miller’s play dramatises the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s. UTE’s production of The Crucible explores the ‘destruction of innocence and challenges our every notion of good and evil’.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) was well represented at a national forum for the next generation of rural and remote health professionals. Second year Bachelor of Pharmacy students Ms Hannah Knowles and Ms Rose Broughton attended the National Rural Health Students Network’s NextGen Conference in Canberra in August. They were joined by final year pharmacy students Ms Louise Luong and Ms Courtney Lerano, and final year nutrition and dietetics student Mr Ash Smith. The students are all members of the WARRIAHS rural health student club at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The Conference focussed on Leading the Future of Rural Health and included skills workshops and networking opportunities along with professional development. Champion Australian wheelchair tennis player, Ms Daniela Di Toro was one of the keynote speakers at the conference, which was designed to inspire future rural health leaders. “The Conference was an amazing opportunity to listen to a wide range of leaders in rural health talk about their experiences and to network with similarly minded health students from all around Australia. It has been a strong motivator for me to become more involved with the issues surrounding health in rural and remote areas,” Ms Knowles said.

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students with the School of Animal Science and Veterinary Science are making last minute preparations as they head off to the United States for international meat judging competitions and a meat industry study tour. In 2012, Mr Isaac Allen from Forbes, Ms Vanessa Campbell from Rutherglen, who is currently living and working in Wagga Wagga, and Ms Jordon Hoban from near Macksville in Northern NSW were named in the five-member Australian team to compete in two meat judging competitions in the USA. It follows their success last July at the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) and at a subsequent intensive Meat & Livestock Australia training program in Brisbane. The team is due to leave Australia for a three-week industry tour of the USA on Friday 11 January and return on Thursday 7 February. Ms Campbell said the trio is all very excited about the trip. “This is a really great opportunity because, as a fourth year vet science student, it gives me a chance to make international meat industry contacts and to see the industry differences between America and the way we do things back home,” she said.