Melbourne artist Mr Warren Lane has been named the winner of the 2009 Casella Art Prize at the Griffith Regional Art Gallery. Judge and Head of the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Visual and Performing Arts, Associate Professor Margaret Woodward, selected Lane’s work, The Accidental Activist to win the $2 500 Casella Art Prize for Excellence in Painting. "The exhibition's theme of urban and built environment has an important role to play in how we understand and reflect the places we inhabit, visit and construct,” said Professor Woodward. “Skilfully executed and very firmly set in an urban environment, Lane's painting invites us to consider the tension between the natural and built environment and to be mindful of the natural world in contemporary urban life.” Now in its fourth year, the Casella Art Prize aims to support new, emerging and established artists within Australia. The exhibition will run at the Griffith Regional Art Gallery until Sunday 26 April.

Key problems facing Australian horticultural production from climate change have been well documented. In a seminar at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) at CSU at Wagga Wagga, researcher Dr Andrew Hall will focus on the impacts for the Australian wine industry.  “Reduced availability of irrigation water, increased pests and diseases, particularly fruit fly, reduction in grape quality and value, and changes to the profitability of other crops are factors that will impact the industry,” said Dr Hall. A NWGIC research fellow, Dr Andrew Hall will present the seminar, Effect of potential climate change on Australian wine-grape growing conditions on Wednesday 15 April.  Current work at the NWGIC involves improving temperature index forecasts for the wine industry. This is being done through improving the estimation of growing season start dates, forecasting temperature index ranges and extreme heat events, and determining which climate models best fit individual wine regions.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer has co-edited a new textbook, Paramedics in Australia, which is the first ever written by and for Australian paramedics, or ambulance officers. Coeditor Associate Professor Peter O’Meara, who is Associate Head of the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences at Bathurst, says for the first time Australian paramedics have been given a voice through publication of a book on paramedic practice which is also a step toward paramedics forging their own professional identity.“Paramedics in Australia explores the challenges that Australian paramedics face daily within a sometimes volatile social and political context of changing technological and clinical practice options, and with ambulance authorities dealing with ever-rising expectations from the community, the health system and government. Most chapters are written by paramedic academics or practicing paramedics drawn from five States, which make it a truly national book. Chapter one is the only known national history of ambulance services in Australia.”

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NSW State Water and former Murray Irrigation Ltd CEO, Mr George Warne will present his views on the future for water at a seminar to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga on Thursday 16 April. Mr Warne’s talk, entitled Where to in water?, will outline the challenges and trends facing the industry, emerging external issues and why the future holds promise. “With the Murray Darling Basin and water resources dominating the national debate and the political agenda, the water industry is in the midst of a period of profound change,” said Mr Warne. The International Centre of Water for Food Security (IC WATER) at CSU holds monthly seminars with national and international water experts invited to discuss the emerging issues and policies dealing with sustainable management of water resources for food security.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) expert in animal fertility is confident his recent visit to Italy will foster new links and help solve mutual problems in breeding quality bulls. CSU Professor of Veterinary Reproduction Peter Chenoweth was guest speaker at a Master of Dairy Production Medicine symposium conducted by the University of Perugia, Umbria. “It allowed us to establish collaborative networks between academics and industry in Australia and Italy, based upon mutual problems and complementary expertise,” said Professor Chenoweth. “I also inspected the National Association of Italian Beef Cattle Breeders Central Genetics Centre and observed the future sires of the iconic Italian breeds, Marhigiana, Chianina and Romagnola. These animals represent an invaluable genetic resource, not only for Italy but also for the rest of the world.” Professor Chenoweth and an Italian colleague are pursuing funding opportunities for reciprocal collaboration for research in livestock fertility.

Lecturers at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies have secured a contract with Indonesia’s State Ministry of Youth and Sport Affairs to provide education programs for the coaches of elite athletes. Dr Stephen Bird and Mr Ben Barrington-Higgs secured the contract, which is in addition to their contract to provide strength and conditioning training for elite athletes, after 10 Indonesian national sports coaches undertook intensive training for an Advanced Certificate in Sport Conditioning at CSU at Bathurst in December last year. “We’re very excited to be an international industry partner of this program because the Ministry is dedicated to improving performance through education of their coaches and athletes,” Dr Bird said. “We will continue to provide expertise to our northern neighbours following the improved performance of Indonesian athletes at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.” Dr Bird and Mr Barrington-Higgs depart for Riau and Surabaya in Indonesia on Monday 20 April as part of preparations for the next South-East Asian Games in December.

The ‘gothic’ subculture in the Riverina will be explored by Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Mr Chris Orchard during a talk about his exhibition at the Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga on Saturday 18 April. A photography lecturer with the CSU School of Visual and Performing Arts, Mr Orchard is the curator of the exhibition Memento Mori: Gothic Subculture in Regional Australia. He is also a member of Wagga After Dark, a collaboration of young artists with an interest in gothic subculture. Clothing, jewellery, music, film and photographs have been contributed to the exhibition.

Building confidence and skills in over 20 000 Charles Sturt University (CSU) students since 1988 has been the driving force for the CSU team behind STUDY LINK. The team, based in the CSU Division of Student Services at Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga, has been named the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Programs that Enhance Learning 2008. STUDY LINK is a program to prepare CSU’s diverse student population for tertiary education. Since its inception in 1988, over 23 000 students have enrolled in the program. “The STUDY LINK team aims to build confidence, skills and knowledge in a supportive environment in preparation for University study,” said team leader, Ms Liz Smith. “The contribution Liz and her team make to support the aspirational achievements of socially, geographically and educationally diverse students who have applied to CSU over many years is both well known and well respected,” said Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Jo-Anne Reid.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has already reached its 2015 target for water savings having slashed its water use by over 40 per cent in the past two years. These figures were highlighted in the 2008 CSU Environmental Scorecard recently released by the University. “This is a fantastic effort across the whole University, all the more important as most of these campuses are or have been in drought declared areas across NSW,” said William Adlong, Manager of CSU’s sustainability office, CSU Green. “Water usage at CSU in 2008 decreased by 16 per cent.” Energy use has decreased by eight per cent since 2006, with a slight increase by 1.5 percent during 2008. “However, there has been an increase in the area of buildings heated and cooled as CSU continued its extensive building program in 2007 and 2008,” said CSU Energy Manager Edward Maher. CSU is also addressing the carbon emissions caused by its staff travelling in cars and aircraft by replacing its large petrol cars with hybrid, diesel and small four cylinder cars in 2009.