Orange community members have been invited to join staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange for a tree planting day on Friday 16 May. The planting will fill gaps in a large windbreak designed to improve habitat for declining woodland birds and other wildlife, and to improve farm sustainability. Adjunct environmental management lecturer from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Orange Dr Cilla Kinross said, "We have 200 odd trees for this purpose, all grown by the 'Little Trees' volunteer propagation group on campus." Interested volunteers are advised to bring warm, waterproof clothes, boots or good shoes, hat and gardening gloves. Volunteers should contact Dr Kinross on (02) 6365 7651 or email ckinross@csu.edu.au to register. Participants will receive a free hot lunch following the tree planting.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will take part in year's Biggest Morning Tea to help finance research into various cancers to be held on Friday 16 May between 8 and 10 am at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. Charles Sturt Cleaning Services, a company managed by CSU that provides cleaning services across the University, will sell breakfast and run a raffle to raise funds for the Australian Cancer Council. The event will be held from 8 am in the Gums Cafe, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and staff will undertake a training program to foster a culture that is inclusive of people who are of diverse sexuality or gender identity will be held at CSU in Albury on Friday 16 May. The Ally Program, launched last month by CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann, will establish a network of allies who publicly support the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI). Student equity and diversity officer, Ms Chai Palila, said, "The Ally Program is in place in a number of universities in Australia and New Zealand and we are very excited about its launch at Charles Sturt University. This is about supporting a higher education environment that is inclusive, safe and respectful of all people at the University." The Ally Program is an initiative of the University's Office of the Dean of Students.

 "Oh my god, I've been kidnapped and I hate what I'm wearing" is a new musical comedy thriller for the stage starring Charles Sturt University (CSU) theatre/media lecturer Ms Kate Smith. The production is another witty collaboration between Ms Smith, who teaches at the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Bathurst, and Mr Drew Fairley who wrote and directed the show. The two have previously wowed audiences with their vaudevillian cabaret offerings Bangers and Mash, and The No Chance In Hell Hotel. The show features new songs by composer and rock star Mr Mikey Lira, and is described as part Alice in Wonderland, part King Kong, and part Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The outfits worn by Ms Smith's character 'Sugar' – a champagne showgirl with a beer career – would make a Hollywood red carpet blush. "Oh my god, I've been kidnapped and I hate what I'm wearing" is at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC), William Street, Bathurst, from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 May. Tickets for this new work at BMEC are now only available are for the 2pm matinee on Saturday 17 May.

 A Charles Sturt University (CSU) promotional booth at a nursing careers expo at the Sydney Town Hall last weekend won the award for best display. Ms Jennifer Manning, associate lecturer and associate clinical coordinator for the Bachelor of Nursing in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Bathurst, said, "The annual Australian College of Nursing Expo is a unique event in the nursing profession's calendar, and winning the award for best display was an unexpected bonus. Charles Sturt University is one of 23 Australian universities offering a pre-registration programme for nursing, and this event allows us to meet with prospective students and provide them with information to make informed decisions regarding their undergraduate and postgraduate study. The day also offered us an opportunity to network with other the tertiary education providers, as well as various health care providers, specialty groups, and equipment manufacturers."

Nursing students, academics and local colleagues will celebrate International Nurses Day with a morning coffee at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Monday 12 May. Dr Judith Anderson from the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health said the aim of the meeting is to express solidarity with their peers around the world and to enable local nurses to meet to discuss relevant professional issues. "Nurses play a vitally important role in the health care system, and they make a great contribution to the wellbeing of individuals and communities," Dr Anderson said. "It is important to acknowledge the work nurses do and to strengthen recognition of their contribution to society." International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. The theme for 2014 is Nurses: A Force for Change – A Vital Resource for Health. The morning coffee will be at the A2Z Cafe at the front of the CSU library (building 1412) starting at 8.30am Monday 12 May.

Work has been completed on a joint project by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Bathurst Regional Council (BRC) to rehabilitate a shared section of Hawthornden Creek, the southern boundary of CSU in Bathurst with Mount Panorama. Mr Chris O'Connor, energy manager in the CSU Division of Facilities Management, said, "In 2010 a BRC report identified Hawthornden Creek as being the most significantly degraded of five urban creek systems within the Bathurst city area and recommended this as the highest priority for rehabilitation". The rehabilitation consisted of two significant 'packages' of civil works: the construction of a 45 metre section of rock capping, and installation of three Schauburger sills, which are large rock structures within the creek bed designed to reduce the flow rate of water in the creek; and construction of three stormwater 'rock chutes' designed to receive stormwater run-off from the CSU campus. "These works are designed to slow the speed of water flowing in the creek under storm conditions," Mr O'Connor said. "This minimises erosion of the channel bed and creek bank, and the volume of sediment entering the Macquarie River. High sediment loads have the potential to decrease the amount of light penetration and dissolved oxygen within the creek, thereby starving freshwater fauna and flora of light and oxygen, which can lead to death of freshwater organisms. These rehabilitation works complement CSU's target to allocate 20 per cent of University land to biodiversity improvement by 2015."Photo: L to R: Ms Gretchen Purcell (CSU Green), the Mayor of Bathurst, Councillor Garry Rush, and DFM campus services manager (Bathurst) Peter Scott.

Are you active and experience chronic pain from sore muscles or tendons in legs, arms or shoulders? Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Community Engagement and Wellness Centre (CEWC) has received a radial shockwave machine on loan for the next 10 weeks to treat active people of all ages free of charge as part of a normal consultation. CSU podiatry educator Mr Brent Smith said radial shockwave therapy has been shown to effectively treat chronic pain caused by various musculoskeletal conditions such as heel pain, plantar fasciitis, problems with Achilles tendon, and sore arms and shoulders. "The therapy consists of three treatments, one a week for 10 minutes. Scientific evidence shows eight out of 10 people treated with the machine experience relief of their pain after the full treatment. We are particularly keen to see people who are engaged in active sports, or who are getting or maintaining their fitness in their later years," Mr Smith said. He said there was limited access to the technology in Albury-Wodonga, and podiatry and physiotherapy students from the School of Community Health at CSU in Albury-Wodonga will also be trained how to use the machine. To find out more about the treatment or book an appointment, contact CSU's Community Engagement and Wellness (CEW) Centre on (02) 6051 9299. Read more about the Centre in CSU News here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie will host a free public lecture by Professor Clive Hamilton on Wednesday 14 May. Professor Hamilton holds the Vice-Chancellor's Chair and is Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) in Canberra. He will address the question, 'A new geological epoch: can humans survive the Anthropocene?'. "According to Earth scientists, our planet has entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, in which human activity has become a powerful force of nature," Professor Hamilton said. "The influence of humans is so powerful that it now overwhelms the natural causes of change in the Earth system. Some earth scientists regard this astonishing event as a stage in the history of the Earth on a par with the emergence of life and the oxygenation of the atmosphere. The question we face in the 21st Century is whether planetary boundaries will be breached to such a degree that the functioning of the Earth system is irreversibly disturbed in ways hostile to life. Or will humans attempt to use technology, like geo-engineering, to take control of the planet? What would it mean for humans to mould nature as a whole, to make the Earth itself into an artefact designed to suit our needs?" The public lecture is part of CSU's 2014 Explorations Series.