As part of Carbon Farming Week, a conference and expo will take place in Dubbo from Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 October. Conference moderator and lecturer in the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mr Kerry Cochrane believes events like this are a step towards better carbon management. “This conference will focus on managing on-farm carbon cycles for profit, production and protecting the future,” Mr Cochrane said. Carbon Farming involves managing the four major resources available to a farmer; the soil, the water, the sun and the wind. “The Carbon Farming Conference aims to equip landholders with knowledge needed to make decisions that take advantage of existing and future opportunities.” This conference features many new ways to enrich soil with carbon that also reduces emissions from the application of conventional fertilisers. Farmers can also harvest the wind and the sun and sell into energy markets.

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange are raising money in support of the endangered bird, the Peregrine Falcon. They recently held a bar night and movie night which raised $500 for the CSU Peregrine Falcon Fund. “The students are pleased to be able to assist and would be happy to organise another fundraising opportunity down the track,” said CSU student support officer, Mr Nik Granger. More than 70 students attended the evening, which included a talk on the Peregrine Falcons and screening of the recently launched FalconCam Project film before the main feature film, The Hangover. President of the Orange Student Representative Committee (OSRC), Ms Ally Horan, said that the committee matched the funds raised by students increasing the contribution to the project to $1 000.

Long service awards will be presented to Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff who’ve served 20 and 30 years with the University. The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, will present medallions to ten staff for 20-years service and to two for 30-years service at a ceremony on Monday 1 November. Mr Sharp said, “I congratulate each of the medal recipients. They have dedicated a major part of their working lives to Charles Sturt University, and in doing this they have contributed greatly to our regional communities, to our state and to Australia. Over these 20 to 30 years, the University has grown so much and helped so many people start or further their careers, and each of these staff members must feel a great deal of pride in their contribution to this development.”  

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga has adapted the national Walk to Work day held at the start of the month to suit local circumstances. Organised by the University’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee, the annual Walk at Work day will be held on Friday 29 October. Also supported by CSU Green, the event involves a four kilometre walk around the campus from 7.15am to 8.15am. With a theme of ‘sustainability’, the Walk at Work will start and end at the student dining area, building 20D near car park 2, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga

A leading Australian academic in the field of occupational science and therapy will show how the profession has changed since the 1970s as well as look to the future for occupational therapists (OTs). During a student conference hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 27 October,  Dr Alison Wicks will deliver her keynote address titled ‘Imagining your futures’. She will explore the potential for OTs to effectively address critical health and lifestyle issues in the 21st century by adopting their unique occupational perspective.  Dr Wicks, who was the first doctoral graduate in CSU’s occupational therapy, will also be addressing her daughter, Sheridan, who is among the 40 students to graduate from the CSU occupational therapy degree next year. Ms Sheridan Wicks is also presenting at the 2010 Occupational Therapy Student Conference in Albury.

In celebration of the United Nations Day on Tuesday 26 October, research students at the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation  and the National Wine Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC)  at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will come together to showcase their cultures. Countries represented in the two research organisations include Australia, China, Germany, Ghana, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Tibet. During the International Food and Trade Fair at CSU in Wagga Wagga, the postgraduate students will bring their national cuisine for tasting and display costumes as well as items and photographs of interest from their home countries. The fair will be held from 12.15pm to 1.30pm on Tuesday 26 October near the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, building 286 near car park 16, Nathan Cobb Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga.

The real impact of cyber-bullying on children, schools and the wider community will be explored during a free public forum hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council on Wednesday 26 October. In the second Edversations Professional Forum for 2010, a panel of three educators will speak on the topic Cyber-bullying … the real impact! before the public forum is open for comments and questions. The panel members include Ms Jacquie Tinkler, a lecturer from the School of Education at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Senior Constable Rebecca Lanyon from NSW Police, and Mr Trevor Howard, Head of Maths and IT at The Riverina Anglican College. The panel will discuss preventing and responding to cyber-bullying and strategies for dealing with this behaviour in the virtual world. The forum will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 26 October in the council meeting room, Civic Centre, Baylis Street in Wagga Wagga.

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being urged to consider taking a step towards creating positive environmental change and embracing the sustainability sector. CSU is the first regional university to host the Green Steps program following its introduction by Monash University in 2000. It has expanded to a number of metropolitan universities and won several major awards including a Banksia Environmental Award. The Green Steps program is a nationally recognised training and internship course offered to students from a range of degrees in 2011. Inaugural Green Steps coordinator, Ms Nicole Hyde, said, “Green Steps is open to students from across Charles Sturt University. The students who are selected will benefit from 30 hours training and 12 days placement with an organisation working on environmental sustainability projects, developing useful networks. Green Steps bridges the gap between the knowledge acquired through study and the skills required in the ‘real world’ of work. Training will be offered in environmental auditing, project planning and management, and communications.”   

Five Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have been named as recipients of the Australian National Field Days awards at the opening of the event near Orange today, Tuesday 19 October. The Australian National Field Days has made available up to $2 500 for scholarships for members of an Australian National Field Days Competition Rugby Club. Recipients of these awards include agricultural business management students Mr Edward Bradley and Mr Andrew Whipple. Other prizes awarded at the opening were to CSU students Mr Brendon Knight, who received the Australian National Field Days book prize for students in agricultural business management, Mr David Savill, who received the Australian National Field Days book prize for students in ecological agriculture, and Ms Roxanne Maree Taylor, who received the Australian National Field Days book prize for students in horticulture studies. The field days run at Borenore west of Orange from Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 October.