As new students settle in to life on campus, St Martin’s College is celebrating 20 years of ministry to young people studying at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. The College is a joint ministry of the Anglican Dioceses of Riverina, and Canberra and Goulburn, offering self-catered residential accommodation to CSU students in Wagga Wagga. The milestone was marked by a weekend of celebrations on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 February which included tours, an anniversary dinner, a book launch, and a service of worship in the newly-renovated College Chapel. The new Garden of Reflection for the chapel was also blessed and dedicated by Bishop Doug Stevens from the Diocese of the Riverina. The garden features olive hedges, a pool of reflection, a waterfall, outdoor seating and an altar. The Head of St Martin’s College, the Reverend Jenny Willsher, hopes the garden will benefit staff and students. “This is a sacred space people can bring their stress, sadness, sorrows, and challenges, as well as their joys and celebrations, and find themselves renewed and refreshed.”

The largest-ever group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and staff will provide physiotherapy and first aid services during the 2011 Tour de Timor, which commences from the capital of Timor-Leste, Dili, on Sunday 11 September. Six CSU physiotherapy and three nursing students and three staff will follow the Tour ‘peloton’ for six days around the mountainous, 600 kilometre course, providing medical services for tired, sore or injured riders. The CSU coordinator, Mr Tim Retchford, said the CSU students will gain valuable professional experience “while working in challenging conditions in a beautiful, though undeveloped, country”. This is the third time CSU students have provided these services during the Tour de Timor. The students and staff leave for Dili on Sunday 4 September to prepare themselves and riders for the event, as well as visiting local medical facilities. Meanwhile, PhD student at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Ms Nicola Wunderlich will take leave during her research in East Timor to cycle in the 2011 Tour De Timor. Read more on CSU News here.

Planting vegetables, herbs and a citrus tree are among the plans for two new gardens in the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Children’s Centre in Wagga Wagga. The gardens will be constructed and planted through sponsorship from Bunnings Warehouse at Wagga Wagga. Representatives of the store will visit the CSU centre at 10am on Wednesday 24 August to discuss the garden plans. Centre Director Ms Megan Isaac said, “The gardens will be important for our children to provide a sensory experience, explore relationships with other living things, learn about plants and allow them to taste fruits and vegetables with which they may not be familiar. This contributes to a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition for our children.”

Known for their visual and sensual appeal, lavenders have been grown for centuries in the garden and commercially for their essential oils. A free public lecture in Tumbarumba on Wednesday 7 September will introduce some of the 39 species and many hybrids of lavenders. Since 2002 Dr Nigel Urwin from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga has bred high yielding lavenders better suited to the Australian environment. His research, sponsored by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and Larkman Nurseries, has produced some novel plants, including the world’s first commercially available ‘polyploid’ lavenders for farm and garden, and led to some interesting insights into the biology of lavenders. The lecture Breeding Lavenders in the Riverina for Farm and Garden will be held from 6pm in the Tumbarumba Shire Council Chambers in Bridge Street, Tumbarumba. CSU wine and cheese will be served after the lecture. Read more about Dr Urwin’s research here.

The development of a way to teach distance education medical science students  how to study normal and diseased human tissue with a virtual microscope has landed a teaching award for a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic. Dr Lucy Webster, from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, has been awarded the 2011 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. “The most important teaching strategies I employ to inspire and motivate students to learn include creation of interactive and engaging resources and demonstrating a true passion and expert knowledge in my field,” said Dr Webster. “Virtual microscopy enables the digital reproduction of glass slides containing healthy and diseased human tissues. Students are able to view and manipulate these images at remote locations. I combined this technology with the University’s real-time virtual classroom known as Wimba to allow genuine interaction between myself and the students to discuss the important features on each slide without having to be in the same room. Before this initiative, internal and distance education students could only view slides during practical classes or residential schools.”

Two major crime scenes of violent domestic assaults will be investigated at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 25 August all in the name of teaching and learning. The investigators at the two scenes will be students studying the subject Crime Scene by distance education. The assault victims and offenders will be played by Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “There is a single opportunity to process a crime scene in real life,” said Mr Pieter Strik, a lecturer with CSU’s Faculty of Arts. “Once an investigator has set foot on the crime scene it has been changed forever. There are no second chances so it is crucial appropriate processes are followed. This subject provides our students with the skills to detect, collect and preserve physical evidence,” said Mr Strik, who has had 30 years experience as a police officer including as a crime scene investigator. About 20 students will be involved in the scenarios from 1pm to 5pm near car park 4, Tooma Way at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

From rainwater harvesting, to student vegetable gardens, fauna friendly fencing and biodegradable coffee cups, Charles Sturt University (CSU) is funding innovative projects to reduce its environmental footprint. In 2011, CSU Green has allocated almost $100 000 to fund eight sustainability projects. The grants are awarded annually as part of CSU’s commitment to reduce energy and water use, increase biodiversity, cut solid waste, and co-operate with communities towards sustainability. CSU Green communication officer, Ms Nicole Maher, said the project ideas come directly from staff and students. “People who are doing something every day often have really smart ideas about how things can be changed to improve the sustainability of what they are doing, and the sustainability grants offer an opportunity for them to make these changes,” she said. A sustainability film festival, a project to better manage remnant vegetation at the Albury-Wodonga campus, rehabilitation of Village Creek at Bathurst, and the development of a native plant nursery in Wagga Wagga, are also being funded through the program.

In recognition of the 2011 'International Year of Chemistry', a public lecture hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council will explore how a series of seemingly unrelated chemical discoveries changed the course of history. Professor of Chemistry at Macquarie University in Sydney, Peter Karuso, will trace chemical connections from the humble shipworm to the discovery of antibiotics. "I'm hoping to show people how important chemistry is to their lives by showing how chemical discoveries have changed the course of history over and over again," he said. "Chemistry is so interesting and so powerful that it deserves the best and brightest minds. I hope in some small way to inspire young people and their parents to take an interest in things chemical as I am sure that chemistry will be at the heart of solutions to many of our current and future problems."

Their love of chemistry and a common desire to give Charles Sturt University (CSU) students the best possible educational experience in the science is at the heart of the Chemistry Teaching Team at CSU. The eight member team has been named a winner of the 2011 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. The team within the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga was honoured at a ceremony on Monday 29 August. Leading the team’s award application, Dr Greg Doran said, “Teaching chemistry is a passion for the entire team but it poses challenges. Most of our students are majoring in other areas and our students are from diverse backgrounds ranging from school leavers to those who haven’t studied for 20 years. Despite this, the team’s teaching goals are relevance, flexibility and interactivity.”  The award was presented during the International Year of Chemistry 2011. Read about the 2011 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence – Individual Award winner Dr Lucy Webster here.