Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga are being encouraged to participate in a Walk at Work on Thursday 5 November. The University’s Occupational, Health and Safety (OH&S) Committee at Wagga Wagga has reshaped the annual national Walk to Work Day to try to get staff and students out and about for a brisk four kilometre walk before a hearty but healthy breakfast at the University. “It would be wonderful to see as many staff and students as possible take part in this exercise within their work environment and to take advantage of the walks around the local campus,” said OH&S Committee presiding officer Mrs Marion Kater.

A new survey aimed at improving animal health and treatment of beef cattle is being conducted by Charles Sturt University (CSU), the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, and the Hume Livestock Health and Pest Authority. The survey entitled ‘Animal Health and Treatment of Beef Cattle’ was recently distributed to 1 600 farmers in the Hume region. The study aims to evaluate how beef farmers assess animal health, and what sources of information they use to select the best treatment for their cattle. This information will be used to ensure best practice in animal healthcare and treatment. As part of the study, all beef farmers are invited to the inaugural Annual EH Graham Centre Beef Field Day on Tuesday 1 December at CSU at Wagga Wagga. The program includes several short presentations on issues such as animal health, pasture growth and economics. There will be four workshops on the following topics: How do you benchmark your own farm?; Why should I bother about pestivirus in my herd?; How to plan the best worm control; and Successful reproduction management. This free event will be hosted annually.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is providing scholarships in 2010 to assist students to meet the costs of study. CSU Equity Scholarships (CSUES) worth $2 000 a year are open to undergraduate or postgraduate students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Indigenous Access Scholarships (IAS) are valued at $4 253 for Indigenous students enrolled in courses on campus or by distance education. Recipients of the IAS also automatically receive a four year Commonwealth-funded scholarship. CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers says the scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis. “The scholarships reflect CSU’s commitment to enhance the communities of rural, regional and Indigenous Australia by making it possible for a greater number of students to participate in tertiary education,” said Professor Chambers.

The Head of the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga, Associate Professor Margaret Woodward, will officially open a new exhibition showcasing the works of students on Friday 27 November. The exhibition, artifex, will feature students from the Bachelor of Arts (Jewellery) and Master of Arts Practice (Jewellery Design and Production). Artifex will be opened from 6pm in the Docker Street Gallery, 125a Docker Street, Wagga Wagga. The exhibition runs until Friday 4 December.

The challenges facing Israel’s wine grape industry are shared by growers and researchers in Australia. Charles Sturt University (CSU) is currently hosting a visit from one of the world’s leading viticulture scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor of Viticulture and Oenology, Professor Ben Ami Bravdo is known internationally for his expertise on the impact of water and salinity stress on plant productivity. He is speaking to researchers at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) at Wagga Wagga on crop load, mineral nutrition, water availability and salinity impact upon the quality and quantity of grape harvests. Later in the week Professor Bravdo will travel to Griffith to present a seminar and meet with district growers. The NWGIC’s Dr Jonathon Holland said, “This is a unique opportunity as Israel experiences many similar issues to those that challenge Australian growers, so there is much that can be learned.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has been named The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year 2009. At a ceremony in Sydney on Friday 20 November, Mr Ryan Aggiss, from Flying Fish Cove winery in the Margaret River region in Western Australia, was named the winner of the award. Mr Aggiss is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) student studying by distance education through the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga. The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year awards aims to encourage and recognise excellence in young winemakers in Australia and New Zealand. The judges found Mr Aggiss produced and made the most outstanding wines of all 10 finalists. As part of the award, the winemaker receives a return trip to Europe for vintage 2010 and $5 000. "I am still pinching myself every day after being recognised by the Wine Society as the Young Winemaker of the Year,” Mr Aggiss said. “It’s extremely gratifying to know that all the years of vintage work and hours of study at Charles Sturt University have enabled me to be in this very fortunate position. I am passionate about continuing the production of well-priced, great wines for Flying Fish Cove and finishing my last year of study. I also look forward to spending a month travelling through the Old World wine regions; France, Italy, Germany and Spain.”

There are many charities and fundraisers vying for the public’s money to support international humanitarian and developmental efforts. A small group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff is contributing to a little-known group building a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Africa. The African non-government organisation (NGO) Mission in Health Care and Development (MHCD) provides assistance in communities straddling the DRC, Rwandan and Burundi borders which have suffered from years of war and unrest. The NGO is involved in health care, food production, and its education project aims to erect school buildings for the students who have never before had access to a school. CSU staff member Mr William Adlong says the group of six Learning and Teaching Services staff were among those who originally contributed the prize from an award win of $100 last year, and who’ve since started contributing individually through regular deductions from their pay. “We recently received an email from Dr Luc at the school at Korohoro. He said two mud brick buildings were completed but they would use a tarpaulin until they raised enough money to roof the building with iron. He is concerned that the buildings will deteriorate through the rainy season,” Mr Adlong said. “I think we each feel that what we contribute is a small amount for us, but a few of these contributions together actually make up a salary for a teacher. We love the idea that we’re contributing to the education of, and a better future for, children, especially those growing up where there has been such strife,” he said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has risen to the task of finding new ways to promote careers in agriculture, an industry which continues to demand skilled professionals to meet the challenges posed by a changing climate and the global demand for food. The School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Orange and Wagga Wagga has launched the ‘Partners in Agricultural Education’, a collaboration with 30 of agriculture’s leading companies to offer final-year Bachelor of Agricultural Science students the opportunity to spend time in a workplace with skilled mentors. The initiative is in response to confronting statistics that reveal the number of people with tertiary qualifications in the agricultural sector is just seven per cent compared to the national average of 22 per cent in other sectors. Companies involved in the scheme were recently thanked at a function at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Coordinator of the new professional placement subject offered in the Bachelor of Agricultural Science, CSU lecturer Dr Alison Southwell, said, “For students thinking about taking up a degree in agricultural science this opportunity will be a real drawcard. For current students it will build real technical competency in the area of agriculture they hope to pursue, as well as developing the professional skills enabling them to become the industry’s future leaders.” Students will begin applying for placements with participating companies in 2010.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate has claimed an international award for the best sparkling wine in the world. Dr Marc P. Bradshaw, Wine Master at Pillitteri Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, is still celebrating after his win at the Effervescents du Monde®, held by the Forum Oenologie, on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 November in Dijon, France. Dr Bradshaw’s Sparkling Icewine Cabernet 2008 was named first in the top 10 sparkling wines against competitors from France, Italy and Argentina. The annual event attracted more than 500 wines from 24 countries. Dr Bradshaw received his PhD from CSU in Wagga Wagga, Australia, in 2002 after completing his research in 2001 investigating ‘Ascorbic Acid as a Promoter of Wine Spoilage’ under Professor of Oenology, Professor Geoff Scollary. The then CSU academic convinced the PhD student to pursue a career in wine over his initial plan to work as a forensic scientist. Dr Bradshaw has worked at wineries in South Africa, Germany and Australia. He started at Pillitteri Estates Winery in Canada in 2004, and was elevated to the position of Wine Master in 2006. “I’m stoked that my Cab Sparkling Icewine was given the honour of top spot at the Effervescents du Monde. It’s pretty surreal for me as this was my first crack at producing a sparkling wine of any sort. It’s very humbling that my Canadian red Icewine should be judged so highly among top champagne and sparkling wine producers and regions,” Dr Bradshaw said.