A passion to assess the impact of climate change on some of the world’s driest places has attracted Dr Antonio Castro from his native Spain to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga for the past six months. A visiting research fellow with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), Dr Castro is assessing the possible impacts of global climate change on Spain, especially the dry south-eastern Andalusia region. He was drawn to Australia to investigate Associate Professor Gary Luck’s major project on assessing ecosystem services, those services provided by the natural environment that enhance the man-made environment, such as carbon storage, timber production, pest control, flower pollination and biodiversity conservation. He hopes to incorporate the skills and knowledge he has developed with Professor Luck into his own research. Dr Castro said he was impressed with the Institute, having never seen ecological, social and cultural views coming together in one institution. “Albury is also a very comfortable city and Australians are very friendly,” Dr Castro said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) student, Luke Tooze is confident as he prepares for his shot at national stardom after being selected in the Australian Idol Top 100. It is an exciting time for the 21 year old, who is into his second year of a teaching degree on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus. The path to possible musical stardom began when he impressed judge Ian Dickson at the first Australian Idol auditions held in the Riverina at CSU’s Joyes Hall in April. The journey continued this month at a second audition in Melbourne when Luke caught the attention of all four Australian Idol judges with his unique vocal style. The CSU student and his guitar are now bound for the Sydney auditions on June 18. Luke has been busking around the NSW inland city of Wagga Wagga in preparation for the next challenge in his quest to become an Australian Idol.

A series of workshops on an “acutely important subject” – frailty – will be held around New South Wales and South Australia regional locations between May and October. The first workshop will be held in Wagga Wagga on Sunday 20 May. According to Professor Patrick Ball, from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences, who leads the multidisciplinary team developing the program, the aim is to optimise the care of frail elderly people in rural and remote communities. “A frail elderly person who falls ill can suddenly go from living independently to being in institutional care. But if you intervene appropriately and vigorously in the early stages, you can keep them at home for years longer. This is especially important in rural and remote areas so you don’t disrupt their life. Their social circle isn’t ruined and we do not finish up picking up the bill as a society.”

Eight Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario teacher education students arrive in Wagga Wagga and Albury this week to work in local schools. The Canadian students will then continue their antipodean travels before returning to Ontario for their graduations in June. This will be the second visit from Bachelor of Educational Studies (Primary Teaching) students from CSU in Ontario. Last year seven CSU in Ontario students spent time in Australia, where they got up close and personal with some native animals at Dubbo’s Western Plain Zoo and described the countryside as “very rural and very flat. It’s not desert but there’s not much green. It’s brown and dusty.” One student travelling to Australia this week, Ruth Markuc said, “I've always wanted to come to Australia and I think it will be an amazing opportunity to teach there. I would love to meet as many people and animals as possible. I really want to see a koala bear and a kangaroo while I'm there”.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is playing a key role in an international comparative study of the juvenile justice systems in NSW and India. Ms Asha Mukundan, an academic from the Centre for Criminology and Justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, is a visiting fellow at CSU through the Federal Government’s prestigious 2007 Endeavour Research Fellowship program. The research is aimed at understanding the function of various agencies under NSW Juvenile Justice focusing on the roles, activities and procedures of delivery systems; institutional and non institutional rehabilitation options and the potential application of best practices in India. The research is supervised by CSU Associate Professor Manohar Pawar, who says it is a great opportunity for CSU and the Tata Institute to work together and explore further collaborative activities.

It is a case of ”first Wagga Wagga, then the world” as the fourth annual Australian International Animation Festival (AIAF) comes to inland Australia. This year’s three-day festival, starting on Friday 18 May, has gathered the largest and most impressive collection of animated films to be seen in Australia. AIAF’s Malcolm Turner says, “It is the first time that the festival will open in Wagga Wagga.” He adds, “The NSW inland city is now placed firmly on the world map”. Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Andrew Hagan said the festival, to be held at the Forum 6 Cinema, “Will be jam-packed with 100 spectacular animated films from 30 countries, intertwined with informative workshops, plus a few surprise screenings”. One of this year’s highlights will be CSU’s Damian Candusso discussing his role in the Oscar Award-winning film Happy Feet. The catalogue of animated films will then screen at festivals around the world including Hungary and embark on an extensive tour of regional towns across Australia.

A taste of Tennessee comes to inland Australia through the Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) newest theatre production. More widely recognised for his success with The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams’s lesser known work Orpheus Descending is one of his most lyrical and beautiful plays. Williams gives a new version of the myth of Orpheus through the musician Val and his encounters with conservative sceptics who dominate a small town in America’s Deep South. Orpheus Descending is directed by CSU’s new lecturer in acting, Ashley Wain, and is performed by CSU third year acting students. The set is designed by visiting Egyptian PhD student Dahlia Farah, with other design roles and stage management being undertaken by CSU third year students of the CSU degree in theatre design.

Major developments at Charles Sturt University (CSU) continue as work begins on an expanded School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences. A $8 million Clinical Training Centre to be built on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus will be used to train undergraduate students in clinical veterinary medicine, surgery, diagnostic imaging and reproduction. The facility will include a large animal surgery and hospital, small animal teaching surgery, diagnostic imaging for both small and large animals, a reproduction laboratory and barn, as well as offices and tutorial spaces. The cutting edge imaging facilities will include scintigraphy, computerised tomography, ultrasonography and digital radiography. Director of Veterinary Science, Professor Kym Abbott said, “In addition to providing the facility for the veterinary science program, the Clinical Training Centre will build and extend pre-existing expertise at CSU in equine science and medical imaging.”

While grain growers rejoice, a Charles Sturt University (CSU) livestock expert is warning recent widespread rainfall across New South Wales and Victoria brings risks as well as great benefits for pastoralists. Professor Kym Abbott from the CSU School of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences Wagga Wagga Campus says sheep flocks and cattle herds face the increased threat of parasitic infestation over the next four to six weeks as parasite larvae, that had lain dormant in the soil, move onto pastures. He is urging sheep and cattle producers to closely monitor parasite egg counts over the next few months to treat sheep if necessary but avoid the excessive use of drenches. Professor Abbott says sheep and calves in particular risk weight loss and scour from parasites such as Brown Stomach worm, Black Scour worm and Nematodirus which thrive after prolonged periods of drought.