A former Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has discovered the value of research isn’t just the results but the skills learnt along the way. The Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) Honours, student from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr David Gale investigated using compost as a replacement for synthetic fertilisers. His research involved a glasshouse trial at CSU in Wagga Wagga and a four month field trial in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam in late 2010. Mr Gale found compost can increase plant yields but because large volumes need to be applied, the strategy is not likely to be widely adopted in the short term. He said while the research has added to industry knowledge, the real benefit is a personal one. “People were right when they said that I couldn't expect to change the world through this project,” said Mr Gale. “But it's also about thinking critically about one aspect of the world in which we live, which ultimately results in a deeper thinking and understanding of the world as a whole.” Mr Gale is now a Graduate Trainee with NSW Primary Industries at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute at Camden.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate student is hoping people will take a ‘hands-on’ approach to finding beauty in germs when visiting an exhibition of her work at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. The exhibition, Pathogenesis by Wagga Wagga based textile artist Ms Marita Macklin, is inspired by the forms and textures of organisms that infect the human body.  Featuring sculptural pieces with embroidered silk and organza, the exhibition is designed to be touched. “I’d like people to see there is so much we don’t know about the microscopic world,” Ms Macklin said. “Something beautiful can be inspired by something we think of as being disgusting.” The exhibition is the culmination of two years of study for her Master of Arts Practice through the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU. “It’s definitely allowed me to develop my artwork to get to a professional standard and to delve into one area to push it as far as you can,” Ms Macklin said.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has been recognised for the vigorous pursuit of his profession to help improve health outcomes of rural and remote Australians. The Rotary 9700 District Vocational Excellence Award was presented to Professor Patrick Ball in front of several hundred Rotarians during the District’s annual conference, which was hosted by The Rotary Club of Orange North on Saturday 2 April. “While I am named on the award, this honour is made possible by team work,” said Professor Ball. “I could not do my job as Professor of Rural Pharmacy without the support and dedication of the entire pharmacy team at Charles Sturt University in Orange and Wagga Wagga.” The Vocational Excellence Award recognises those “who have demonstrated very high achievements in their vocation, and contributed significantly to the advancement of that vocation in their community, nationally or globally.”

The latest in animation and visual effects will be shown in Wagga Wagga during the 8th annual Australian International Animation Festival, hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in May. “The 2011 event at the Forum 6 Cinema has secured amazing exclusives from more than 2 000 submissions from all around the world,” said festival organiser Mr Andrew Hagan from the School of Communication and Creative Industries  at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The festival will premiere on Friday 13 May at 6pm with the first International Competition program. On Saturday 14 May, there will be a special presentation by Australian filmmakers. “We’ve enticed as many of the filmmakers as we could to take the stage after the screening so they can talk about animating in Australia and to answer questions. There are programs for younger audiences and even a late night event for those whose tastes lurch to the truly odd and unfathomable.” There will also be free talks and workshops by filmmakers from local and international filmmakers. See the full program here.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Communication and Creative Industries will co-host, with the Centre for Media History, a two-day interdisciplinary symposium in Bathurst on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 May to mark the centenary of the ‘bible of the bush’ in NSW, The Land newspaper. Ms Margaret Van Heekeren, lecturer in journalism at the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said the symposium, titled The Land: Past, Present and Future, will bring together media scholars to reflect on how the media sees rural and regional Australia. “The idea for the symposium was sparked by The Land anniversary but the symposium is really a broader look at how rural and regional areas have been represented in media, and how they interact with media. We have presentations covering newspapers as well as radio and film,” Ms Van Heekeren said. Academics from several universities will present papers on a range of topics related to The Land newspaper, and the general media coverage of issues affecting rural Australia in the last 100 years.

Fresh from his presentation at a conference in the United Kingdom, the Manager of Residential Operations at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga, Mr Peter Bell will discuss an innovative youth educational program at a public lecture in Narrandera on Wednesday 18 May. At the Association for Student Residential Accommodation conference in Edinburgh in early April, Mr Bell delivered a presentation on the program, Putting Youth in the Picture. He discussed how CSU is rolling out the program across its regions after securing the first NSW licence in 2010. Designed to assist local communities in dealing with confronting issues for young people, Putting Youth in the Picture has already been implemented in the University’s Halls of Residences. “This program is about empowering local communities through their local councils, school or sporting groups to use the program’s resources to hopefully prevent their young people from getting into difficulties,” Mr Bell said.

The challenges of working to improve the lives of subsistence farmers in war torn African countries will be featured in a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 11 May 2011. In the lecture titled Sex, babies, money, violence and genetics, international genetics consultant and adjunct senior lecturer with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Dr Sara McClintock will share her experiences working with the International Livestock Research Centre in Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia.  “I was running a lab trying to produce cheap embryos that would produce 95 per cent female calves to increase the profitability of a local farmer’s cow so she could afford to send her children to school and feed them a little milk.” Dr McClintock said in times of civil unrest, crops are often destroyed, seed stocks stolen and farm animals eaten by the tribal militias. “These animals are usually a local breed that has survived in tough conditions, may be worm resistant or have a low feed requirement,” she said. “One of the solutions is to conserve germ plasma, such as semen, in liquid nitrogen but this can be politically sensitive because many developing countries are paranoid about developed countries stealing their genetic material.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU), in association with the Islamic Council of NSW, will present a free screening of documentary In the Footsteps of the Ancestors: Muslims Down Under at CSU in Orange on Friday 13 May. The film captures the ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity of Muslims in Australia, and tells the stories of Muslim pioneers and their descendants, beginning with the pivotal, fundamental role the Afghan camel herders played in the development of outback Australia, to the successful integration Muslims have made into modern Australian society. Documentary producer Ms Nada Roude says the documentary encourages a greater effort in understanding and appreciation of Islam and Muslims where sharing knowledge and stories is one of the most important ways of building a genuine sense of community in Australia. “It strengthens the belief in fairness, equality and respect, the values we aspire to in Australia.”

Veterinary science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga are lending their support and knowledge to the annual Millions Paws Walk organised by the RSPCA. Members of the official CSU student club, the Veterinary Students Association (VSA) will work with animal lovers and their pets to make sure the fundraising event runs smoothly on Sunday 15 May. The VSA’s Ms Caitlin Mack will be one of 40 students taking part. “I’ll be able to put my veterinary science skills to use to support this worthy charity while walking my pet dog Bella,” she said. Head of the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Professor Nick Sangster, said the School works with RSPCA vets in a number of ways, while volunteer work by students also involves finding pets new homes. The RSPCA Millions Paws Walk aims to raise funds for the animal welfare organisation.