Using cycling to deliver messages of reconciliation and good health will be all in a day’s work for Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff and students on Friday 8 November. An Aboriginal man and CSU academic Mr Brett Biles will be joined by physiotherapy students to assist with the care of cyclists riding in the Tour Da Country from Wollongong to Albury-Wodonga to promote messages encouraging good health and healthy living to members of the Aboriginal community. They will be joined by staff from Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service (AWAHS) and Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation to provide a free lunch and welcome up to 10 cyclists.  

Agricultural and wine research took centre stage when senior diplomats from 27 countries visited Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Monday 4 November.  Representatives from the NSW Consular Corps toured the University’s world class research facilities, including the National Life Sciences Hub (NaLSH), CSU Winery, National Wine and Grape Industry Centre and the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation. “Charles Sturt University has strong educational and research ties with institutions in many of the countries represented in this tour and more than 200 international students are currently studying here in Wagga Wagga,” said the CSU Head of Campus in Wagga Wagga Ms Miriam Dayhew. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to strengthen those ties and show these senior diplomats what the University has to offer.” The tour was facilitated by the Minister for Western NSW, Mr Kevin Humphries MP, to build international awareness of the educational and business opportunities available within the region.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders from the Orange region to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the town and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Orange on 4 November for community leaders and partners, with a view to strengthening 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 Orange, from noon-2pm.

A free all-ages event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst, at 5pm Tuesday 12 November, will start the rural leg of the Australia Museum’s Festival of Science 2013. The multi-event festival aims to encourage people to see and understand the science they encounter every day, and includes hands-on experiments and practical demonstrations. CSU spokesperson Dr James Crane, lecturer in physiology and anatomy in the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “Charles Sturt University is excited to play host to the Australian Museum’s Science Festival. To meet the challenges of the future, Australia needs people from all walks of life and backgrounds to have an appreciation for science and how science is done. This festival is a truly fantastic opportunity to introduce children, and re-introduce adults, to some of the excitement of doing science and learning about the world we live in. It offers primary and high school students, as well as the general public, an unparalleled opportunity to get hands-on and ‘do’ science. There really is something for everyone. As part of this festival, staff and students from the University’s paramedic program will be teaching CPR, performing a simulated vehicle extraction, and discussing the science behind paramedic practice and first aid.”

Science teachers from the Riverina will return to university, if only for a short time, as part of a professional development opportunity at Charles Sturt University (CSU) this week. Organised by the Eastern Riverina Science Teacher’s Association, the conference will be held at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 31 October and Friday 1 November. As part of the event, a number of workshops will be run for the high school teachers by academics from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences. Associate Professor Paul Prenzler will present a workshop on how teachers can engage students from Years 7 to 10 in fun chemistry practicals or demonstrations. ‘Chemistry – practicals to engage the junior learner’ will be held from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Thursday 31 October in the National Life Sciences Hub at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The CSU academic, who is a member of the University’s award winning Chemistry Teaching Team and of the Eastern Riverina Science Teacher’s Association, was recently involved in promoting science amongst Indigenous students at Mount Austin High School as part of the National Indigenous Science Education Program. Read more on CSU News here.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher believes effective biosecurity is the most humane and affordable way of preventing the spread of Avian Influenza from wild waterfowl to poultry operations. Birds on a second egg farm near Young in NSW have been confirmed to have the H7 strain of Avian Influenza, different to the H5N1 strain which can affect humans. Dr Andrew Peters, lecturer in Veterinary Pathology with the  School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga has an interest in the spread of parasites and disease in wild bird populations.  He said various strains of Avian Influenza circulate naturally in populations of waterfowl but rarely causes disease in these wild birds. “Different species of waterfowl play different roles in the transmission and maintenance of Avian Influenza in the natural environment,” said Dr Peters. “There is a need to better characterise this in Australia, as well as the ecology of these species, and by doing so develop cost-effective biosecurity measures to protect free-range poultry operations.” 

As regional cities slowly move into surrounding farms and bushlands, native animals such as the squirrel glider have become threatened by loss of suitable habitat. Charles Sturt University (CSU) wildlife researcher and Honours student, Mr Mitchell Francis, has found that better land planning in developing cities could help the survival of threatened species such as the squirrel glider. In a study of urban and rural environments on the northern edge of Albury at Thurgoona, Mr Francis found squirrel gliders, which live in tree hollows for nesting and foraging, preferred tall, large hollow bearing native trees where there was less urban noise, fewer roads, and less light pollution from human sources such as streetlights and houses. “I suspect that roads are barriers to the movement of squirrel gliders for foraging, and light and noise pollution from nearby developing suburbs are a threat to their persistence,” Mr Francis said. His supervisor, Dr Peter Spooner, noted that in much of eastern Australia, towns and cities are expanding into habitat which is critical for native fauna. “Knowledge of urban impacts on animals like the squirrel glider is important for town planners who are making decisions to approve urban developments on the edge of town and cities.”

People in Dubbo and the region will be asked ‘Do you need a digital diet?’ when a leading education academic presents a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Wednesday 13 November. Professor of Education and Head of the CSU School of Teacher Education, Tara Brabazon, will speak about the need to manage our fixation with digital social media that has resulted from recent rapid technological developments. “I will challenge the audience – and people everywhere - to move from information obesity to intellectual fitness by developing ‘information literacy’,” Professor Brabazon said. “I argue that we need to learn to manage the confusion and disruption of our modern lives, as they are increasingly swamped by the digital beep-beep-beep of Facebook updates, Twitter, and mobile phone messages.” You can view Professor Brabazon’s YouTube video invitation to attend here. She will also launch her new book, Digital Dieting, during the public lecture.

One of Australia’s leading experts in estate planning and succession will host two  seminars at  Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie on Thursday 7 November for people interesting in planning and managing their family’s financial future. Hosted by Charles Sturt University’s Faculty of Business, a third-generation lawyer with more than 25 years experience, Mr Michael Perkins, will present the seminar ‘Protecting Your Children’s Inheritance and Planning for Your Later Years’. Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business Professor Lesley White said Mr Perkins would also host a seminar for professionals working in the financial services industry, ‘Planning, Administration and Succession – A Guide for Professional Advisors’, on the same day. “These are the first in a series of seminars for professional advisors and non-professional investors,” Professor White said. “It’s a great opportunity to come and meet one of the nation’s top advisors, and to ask the questions that are important to planning your financial future. Read more here.