It’s a far cry from studying platypus on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River to Army Reserve training in the jungles of Malaysia, but a Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer is about to get a taste of what her environmental science (Honours) student has been experiencing in his training with the Army Reserve. Senior lecturer in veterinary microbiology, Dr Joanne Connolly, from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, will leave on Monday 15 December to spend five days with Rifle Company Butterworth, near Penang in northern Malaysia, at the invitation of the Defence Reserves Support.  Dr Connolly, who researches disease in platypus, will experience life as a soldier in the field, including weapons handling and finding food from the jungle, to gain insight into the Army Reserve. It’s an activity Dr Connolly didn’t know was on the horizon when she became Mr Tom Claridge’s supervisor for his Honours degree.  However, the academic is excited and a bit nervous about the challenge. “We’ve roughed it in streams late at night netting the nocturnal platypus across the Murrumbidgee catchment as part of the current research project, but this will certainly be a bit different. Tom has to write his thesis when he gets back from his three months service, so I’ll gently remind him about that when I see him in Malaysia,” Dr Connolly said.  

The world’s best caviar are eggs from the endangered sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea. These fish spawn in the Lower Volga wetlands of Russia, which are under threat from damage caused by the construction of hydro-electric dams, pollution, unorganised tourism, agriculture and expansion of the oil industry. Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga will host a delegation on Tuesday 8 December from the Russian region, which is visiting Australia as part of a study tour that is inspecting Australian wetlands and water management systems. The 12 visitors, involved with a five year project funded by the United Nations Development Program, will discuss the ongoing restoration of CSU’s wetlands on its Thurgoona site and relevant water ecology and management research projects with researchers from the University’s Institute of Land, Water and Society. They will also meet with the University’s new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Sue Thomas.

Threats to inland frog species and conservation strategies will be on the agenda when the Declining Frog Working Group meets at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga on Monday 23 November. The independent advisory body is made up of policy makers, managers and scientists including CSU’s Dr Skye Wassens. The group meets three times a year to plan for the conservation and long-term management of Australia’s threatened frog fauna. Ecologist with CSU’s Institute of Land, Water and Society and meeting convenor, Dr Skye Wassens is currently looking at the breeding responses of frogs following changes in wetland flooding regimes along the Murray River. “Inland frogs are vulnerable to factors including habitat loss and degradation, exotic species, disease and climate change,” Dr Wassens said. “Coupled with these factors comes difficulty in finding frogs to actually study. Some species have very erratic activity patterns or live in remote areas or in large wetland systems which are difficult to survey. Cooperation between agencies like the Catchment Management Authorities, state government departments and scientists is vital to pool our expertise and resources,” she said. Read more about Dr Wassens research here.

Globally, the rate of loss of freshwater wetlands exceeds that of any other ecosystem and predicted climate change will greatly exacerbate the trend in the future. According to Charles Sturt University (CSU) vertebrate ecologist Dr Iain Taylor, wetlands provide invaluable ecosystem services to humans throughout the world and are essential habitats for an amazing diversity of flora and fauna. “Many species of water birds are in serious decline and the on-going drought in southeast Australia has caused a massive and probably irreversible decline in most of the larger water birds such as egrets, ibises and spoonbills,” he said. Dr Taylor is the convener of the international conference, Wetlands and Waterbirds: Managing for Resilience in Leeton in the Riverina region of NSW from Monday 9 November. Also presenting at the conference is CSU wetland ecologist Professor Max Finlayson who said climate change will place many wetlands and species under further pressure from rising temperatures and changes to their water regimes as rainfall patterns change. “If anything we should be constructing or restoring more wetlands, not degrading those that are left. They are valuable and have been under stress for far too long,” said Professor Finlayson, Director of CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society.

Student leaders at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga will reveal more than usual when they unveil a 2010 calendar to raise money for men’s health. The male Residential Advisors or RAs will launch their nude calendar from 2.30pm on Friday 6 November. Funds raised from the sale of the $10 calendars will go to support the annual Movember campaign highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men. The RAs featured in the calendar will be on hand at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Friday 6 November to autograph their favourite month. During the event, students who participated in the Moctober Challenge – Grow or Design a Mo’ - from Friday 9 October to Friday 6 November will participate in a final shave-off and celebrate with a barbecue. The calendar launch and final shave-off for Moctober will be held near the student canteen, building 20, near car park 2, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU at Wagga Wagga.

An art exhibition by two Indigenous students at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Visual and Performing Arts at Wagga Wagga will be opened today, Tuesday 20 October. Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) student, Ms Melanie Evans, and postgraduate jewellery student, Mr Wayne Simon, will showcase their works in Crafts of Contrast to be opened at the William Merrylees Library at CSU at Wagga Wagga from 3pm by Mr Ray Eldridge, Manager of the University’s Indigenous Student Services. There will be a Welcome to Country by Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Sandy Warren. The exhibition of black and white photographs and linoprints by Ms Evans and jewellery by Mr Simon will remain on display in the library foyer until Tuesday 3 November. “In the exhibition, we play with the differences and similarities of the white and black cultures that we belong to and the journey of self discovery,” said Ms Evans.  “We have walked contrasting paths, but have met at a crossroads where we can nurture and challenge each other’s ideals in order to strengthen our cultural identities.”

A public forum to be held in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 28 October will explore the benefits of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools and the relevance of Certificate I and II qualifications in the workforce. VET provides an opportunity for high school students to commence industry qualifications while still at school, and provides an important link between the school-based qualification and employment. A panel, including representatives from the School of Education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga, will provide an insight into research and teaching in the area. They will also examine whether VET qualifications have made the transition from school to work smoother for students. “VET in schools provides a pathway from school to work that allows students to focus their study on a specific vocation quite early in their education,” said Mr Paul Galloway from the School of Education.  “It is interesting to note that VET in schools can also develop a strong study philosophy, and many students continue on to tertiary study.”

The work of veterinary practices throughout the Riverina in supporting the veterinary science program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga will be recognised by the University this week. The support includes hosting CSU students for practicum placements during the past five years. “This contribution has made an enormous difference to the development of these students as skilled veterinarians for rural and regional Australia,” said Head of the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Professor Kym Abbott. As thanks for this vital contribution to the veterinary science program, the School will host the inaugural Practitioner Appreciation Day (PAD) from 5pm on Tuesday 20 October. “The partnership that has been formed between the University and practicing veterinarians is highly valued by staff and students at Charles Sturt University,” said Professor Abbott. During PAD, local veterinarians will be able to inspect the veterinary science facilities, including the Veterinary Clinical Centre, the new Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the University’s cattle handling facilities. Academics will also deliver presentations on new developments in the veterinary science field, including new antibiotics and analgesics.

A special presentation during a Leeton High School assembly on Tuesday 27 October will honour Year 11 student Mr Micheil Smith for his selection for Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Gifted and Talented program run by the CSU Faculty of Business. The Gifted and Talented program gives high school students an opportunity to study a university subject. Attending the assembly in Leeton will be Associate Professor John Louis and Mr Anthony Chan from the University’s Faculty of Business, and Ms Roxanne Locke, Manager of the Division of Student Administration at CSU. Mr Smith is studying the subject Introduction to Data Communications through CSU at Wagga Wagga.