Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students with the School of Animal Science and Veterinary Science are making last minute preparations as they head off to the United States for international meat judging competitions and a meat industry study tour. In 2012, Mr Isaac Allen from Forbes, Ms Vanessa Campbell from Rutherglen, who is currently living and working in Wagga Wagga, and Ms Jordon Hoban from near Macksville in Northern NSW were named in the five-member Australian team to compete in two meat judging competitions in the USA. It follows their success last July at the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) and at a subsequent intensive Meat & Livestock Australia training program in Brisbane. The team is due to leave Australia for a three-week industry tour of the USA on Friday 11 January and return on Thursday 7 February. Ms Campbell said the trio is all very excited about the trip. “This is a really great opportunity because, as a fourth year vet science student, it gives me a chance to make international meat industry contacts and to see the industry differences between America and the way we do things back home,” she said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will launch the latest review of its sustainability achievements this week. The University’s annual Environmental Scorecard will be launched by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Ken Dillon from 10am to 11am on Thursday 26 September at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Coordinated by CSU Green, the Environmental Scorecard has been released annually since 2007. It tracks CSU’s resource use and green gas emissions in relation to its sustainability targets. The document also outlines other sustainability initiatives. Professor Dillon said, “Sustainability is a key part of the University’s Strategic Plan for 2013-2015. The 2012 Environmental Scorecard shows us how we are travelling in terms of meeting our set targets. Sustainability is everybody’s business.” CSU Green Manager Mr Edward Maher said, “Some stand-out examples of great things being implemented by our staff and students that are featured in the report include postgraduate student David Gale’s ambitions to help small farmers in Vietnam to reduce their reliance on synthetic fertilisers, and lecturer Chris Orchard’s focus on educating his graphic design students about the environmental implications of the practices and processes used in the design industry.” Read more about CSU Green on CSU News here and here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bachelor of Agricultural Science students demonstrated their grain industry knowledge by placing second in the team category of the Australian Universities Crop Competition. The three-day event, held in Temora from Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 September, saw students from six universities tested on everything from grain grading and yield potential through to weed identification, business skills and farm management software. Dr Sergio Moroni, lecturer in crop agronomy from CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, coached the team and said the students performed well. “It takes a great effort and independent training for this competition as students volunteered to represent the University and their preparation was done outside of their current study obligations,” he said. CSU was represented by Mr Cameron Prien, Mr Nathanael Liersch, Ms Georgia Branson, Mr Lachlan Vogan and Mr Jamie Thornberry. The annual competition is hosted by GrainGrowers.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders around Wagga Wagga to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the city and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Friday 4 October for community leaders and partners to strengthen partnerships in the region. Professor Vann said the luncheon was an opportunity to discuss how the University could work more closely with community and business groups. “The luncheon will bring together community leaders and partners to discuss the contribution of Charles Sturt University,” he said. “More importantly, it will provide an opportunity for the community to tell us about the opportunities they see for the University to contribute and identify the challenges we can work together to overcome.” Guests will be invited to contribute thoughts and suggestions during the luncheon, which will be held at CSU in Wagga Wagga, from noon to 2pm.

The talents of the final year photography students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be on show at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery from Friday 25 October during the annual graduation exhibition. Thirteen students from the School of Communication and Creative Arts at CSU in Wagga Wagga will display their many styles and techniques during Envisage. The exhibition runs until Sunday 15 December. Envisage will be launched by Associate Professor Helen Ennis from the School of Art at the Australian National University from 6pm to 8pm on Saturday 26 October. Associate Professor Ennis is one of Australia’s leading photography curators, historians and writers. She was formerly Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Australia. As part of the exhibition, six of the exhibiting students will each speak about their practice and what the CSU degree has given them during a free forum at the Gallery from midday to 1.30pm on Friday 25 October. The students are due to graduate from CSU in Wagga Wagga during a ceremony on December.  

The latest debate on climate change and bushfires is “the discussion the Australian community has to have”, a senior CSU ecologist says. Associate Professor David Watson with the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society said the latest debate is a timely reminder of the importance of extreme weather events in Australia. “Recent reports have shown climate change is real and is linked to increasing extremes in weather such as droughts and dry periods, which will increase the chance of bushfires,” said Professor Watson. “Increasing incidences of floods and cyclones are also more likely with climate change, so we as a nation need to consider how we are going to address this. We need to plan for both short-term responses and longer term planning of our cities and settlements across Australia and the various landscapes that will be affected. This is not a political issue — in 2006, then Prime Minister John Howard linked human-induced climate change with increased bushfire risk.  Insurers, agronomists and many other industries are already planning for increases in bushfires, severe storms and other extreme events, so it seems incongruous that the federal government is not being more pro-active.  We cannot afford to sit back and just let climate change happen with doing something about it,” he said.