Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Parkes Shire Council will host a free public lecture on Wednesday 21 October at Parkes to examine the difficult questions surrounding the provision of health care services in rural and remote areas. ‘What Health Services Should Rural Australia Have?’ will be presented by the University’s Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy, Professor Patrick Ball, from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga . Professor Ball will present his findings from a study of health care services in two similar rural communities in NSW. “Our research provides evidence that what is required is more flexibility in allowing communities to develop approaches that meet their individual needs, based more upon access to services, rather than necessarily their physical presence,” said Professor Ball. Read more about Professor Ball’s research here.

The town of Temora will host a free public lecture on Wednesday 21 October by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) internationally renowned wetland ecologist, Adjunct Professor David Mitchell, who will discuss recent developments in the management of water in Australian landscapes. Professor Mitchell is from the CSU School of Environmental Sciences at Albury-Wodonga and is Principal Researcher in the University’s Institute of Land, Water and Society. He will review whether it is possible to manage surface waters in southern Australia using methods that mimic the natural processes of water storage and distribution. Professor Mitchell says, “Natural storage of water in the soil profile and in vegetation used to form a protective mantle over the surface. This has been largely replaced by surface water storage from which it readily evaporates, especially during droughts.”. While the latter approach supplies water for agricultural and urban demands, Professor Mitchell will question whether Australia is too reliant on this method of water storage. The CSU academic will also examine the ‘Natural Sequence Farming’ approach founded by Mr Peter Andrews.

It was smiles all-around when five Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and five local TAFE students received scholarships from the V8 Supercars organisation to assist with their studies. The scholarships, with a total value of $23 000, were presented at a ceremony at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst on Thursday 8 October in the lead-up to the annual ‘Great Race’ at Mount Panorama. Four students from the CSU School of Communication - Ms Kate Prince, Ms Melissa Gompes, Mr Thomas Lowrey, and Mr Joshua Manning - and one from the CSU School of Nursing, Ms Clare Pithers, received scholarships. They were congratulated by the Mayor of Bathurst, Councillor Paul Toole, Chief Operations Officer with V8 Supercars, Mr Shane Howard, CSU Head of Campus at Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, and by Associate Professor Rod McCulloch, Head of the CSU School of Communication at Bathurst. Journalism student Ms Melissa Gompes received The Peter Brock Memorial Scholarship in association with V8 Supercars and Bathurst Regional Council. Ms Gompes gave the vote of thanks on behalf of all students, stressing how much the financial assistance was appreciated. During proceedings it was noted that several of the TAFE students who received scholarships intend to study at CSU in 2010.

With several species of blowfly developing a resistance to numerous classes of insecticides, local sheep breeders are to learn how to contain flystrike in their flock when they attend a free flystrike prevention workshop at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange this Friday 16 October. Run by the NSW  Department of Industry and Investment, the hands-on workshop is for commercial sheep producers who wish to maintain their skills and knowledge to prevent flystrike. Dr Shevahn Telfser from CSU’s School of Agriculture and Wine Science says, “Sheep producers who attend the workshop will walk away with key tools to help reduce the incidence of flystrike in their flock, and, if a fly wave strikes, how to deal with it swiftly and effectively.” For more information contact Ms Jane Mason, Orange Agricultural Institute on 6391 3967.

A team of 140 Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in 15 teams in 13 different sports competed against 7 000 students from 40 other Australian and New Zealand universities at Australia’s largest annual sporting event, the 2009 Australian University Games held at the Gold Coast, Queensland, from 27 September to 2 October. CSU’s lawn bowls team of Mr Andrew Banasik and Mr Adam Parker (pairs) and Mr Jay Mathieson (singles) won the gold medal, while the CSU Bluebottles men’s water polo team won a silver medal, and the CSU men’s touch football team, which was down on numbers, won the bronze medal. CSU team manager, Mr Nik Granger, said it was a great week of competition where all CSU students participated in the right spirit. “This did not go unnoticed, and CSU was the unofficial runner-up for the ‘Spirit of the Games’ award. This is testament to the great nature of CSU students, who, year-in year-out, are known for their sportsmanship and good behaviour.” For each sport, a paper-based Green and Gold Merit team is chosen of people who have stood out to selectors during the week. CSU had six team members selected in their respective Green and Gold teams; Ms Chiara Porter (basketball), Mr Shane Conroy (hockey), and Mr Adam Parker (lawn bowls) and Ms Eliza Baddock, Mr Sam Thompson and Mr Brendan Collits (all in touch football).

Seven Charles Sturt University (CSU) campuses will become rivals on Wednesday 14 October as they compete in a campus challenge as part of National Ride to Work Day. “There are a large number of staff on each campus who are regular and keen bicycle riders, but this is our way of encouraging other staff at Charles Sturt University to give it a go,” said Mr David Tallentire, CSU Manager of Occupational Health and Safety and the campus challenge organiser. “The establishment of CSU Green in 2008 highlighted a commitment to cooperate with communities towards sustainability, and by taking part in the National Ride to Work Day, CSU staff are supporting this commitment.” Twenty-four cyclists have registered for the ride at CSU at Wagga Wagga. Ride to Work is a behaviour change program that encourages workers to feel good and have fun by commuting to work by bicycle and experiencing the health, financial and environmental benefits of cycling.

A tutor at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst has won awards in the two categories for which she was nominated at the annual 2009 Australian Commercial Radio Association (ACRA) Awards presented in Sydney on Saturday 10 October. Ms Janeen Hosemans, a tutor in commercial radio and advertising courses at the CSU School of Communication, who hosted the popular Morning Wireless Program on local Bathurst radio station 2BS, won the top award in the  categories for Best Talk Presenter, and Best On-air Team (with co-host Mr Peter Harrison for their weekly ‘Fishy Friday’ segment). The producer of both these segments, Ms Andrea Moore, also won Best Show Producer – Talk and Current Affairs (non-metropolitan). The Head of the School of Communication, Associate Professor Rod McCulloch said, “As our valued industry partner and supporter of the School of Communication, our congratulations go to all at Bathurst Broadcasters for a stellar performance at the ACRA Awards.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has been named as a finalist in The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year 2009 awards. Mr Ryan Aggiss, from Flying Fish Cove winery in the Margaret River region in West Australia, is one of the 10 finalists. The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year awards aims to encourage and recognise excellence in young winemakers in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Aggiss is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) student studying by distance education through the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga. At Flying Fish Cove since 2007, the CSU student was made Winemaker the following year. “It is a great honour to be named as a finalist and to represent my state in the awards,” said Mr Aggiss. “I am looking forward to getting my degree and continuing to develop my career in the industry and believe my studies have helped greatly in my development as a winemaker.” Dr Andrew Clarke, wine science course coordinator in the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, said, “Ryan is well deserving of this nomination. In particular, he is well known by Charles Sturt University academic staff for his excellent palate and perceptive insights into wine production processes.”

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst staged a ‘Global Dinner’ on Tuesday 13 October which raised $1 600 for charity. One of the organisers, Ms Georgia Gilson, a third-year journalism student and a residential advisor at ‘The Diggings’ student accommodation, said the charity event was part of Diggings Week, and the first of its kind to be held on the Bathurst Campus. “More than 150 students attended,” Ms Gilson said. “We divided the room into 19 national tables consisting of first, second and third world countries, and we treated these tables accordingly throughout the night. All residential advisors from the various accommodation complexes on the Bathurst Campus volunteered to help on the night as ‘United Nations representatives’. It is rare for all the residences to work together for the greater good, and to raise awareness among students about life outside our privileged sphere.”