Education & training

Farmers who have been through a bushfire are wanted for a research project looking to gain a better understanding of the psychological impacts of bushfires and the support that farmers want in the aftermath. The lead researcher, Dr Kate Gunn, Senior Research Fellow and Clinical Psychologist from the University of South Australia, herself grew up on a farm near Streaky Bay in South Australia.

Emma Pritchard. “Teachers are instrumental in every community and the NSW Government needs to invest in them because children, especially in rural and regional areas, are bearing the brunt of the shortages and as a consequence their education is being put at risk”: NSW Teachers Federation President, Angelos Gavrielatos.

Cape York’s future Olympic stars were put through their paces by two of the most qualified coaches you could come across at a two-day clinic in Cooktown earlier this month ... members from Cooktown Amateur Swimming Club had the opportunity to be coached by former Olympians – breaststroke champion Leisel Jones and backstroke star Meagen Nay.

TAFE NSW has denied claims that it plans to sell off the Narrandera and Deniliquin campuses. The denial was in response to claims by the Member for Murray Helen Dalton that a secret briefing note ... revealed TAFE NSW wanted approval to sell off 19 TAFE campuses across regional NSW ... “We should be investing more in TAFE, not less. I sometimes wonder if this Government want to kill off all of regional NSW and force us all to move to Sydney.”

Forestry Corporation put 40 new firefighting recruits through their paces at its Tumbarumba training camp in preparation for the fire season ahead ... This included topics such as fire behaviour, tactics and strategy, leadership, command, control and communications, and how to operate the range of appliances and equipment used at fires, said Fire Training and Operations Officer, Adrien Thompson.

The Australian Rural Health Education Network (ARHEN) today welcomed the Final Report from the House Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the recommendations to improve access to services for people in rural and remote Australia.

Two new guides, 'Setting up for success: Bushfoods' and 'Protection of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge for Bushfood Businesses', highlight the risks and opportunities for Aboriginal businesses, as well as promoting best practices for industry.

Researchers from The University of Western Australia recently completed the final report for the LHI Galapagos shark research project, which has been running since January 2018. This research used acoustic listening stations around LHI waters to track Galapagos sharks fitted with internal acoustic tags to determine their movement patterns, as well as identifying where, when and how frequently these sharks interact with fishing vessels.

The iconic Maldon Blue Light Youth Camp is at risk of closure due to funding losses from COVID-19.   The camp has a 30-year legacy in the Maldon community, running school camps and education programs ... Due to COVID-19 restrictions camps are unable to run at present, leaving the camp without any form of revenue.

Queensland copper mine waste could deliver a key ingredient for the renewable energy revolution thanks to a three-year international study. Qld Resources Minister Scott Stewart announced a three-way agreement between the Queensland Government,  Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)  and  the University of Queensland  which will examine whether cobalt – a globally-sought-after critical mineral and a key battery ingredient – can be retrieved economically from old copper mine tailings.

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent, with water a scarce commodity and a major environmental, biological and socio-economic issue for many communities across the state. Now, thanks to UniSA researcher Dr Alaa Ahmed, new cost-effective technology can pinpoint sites in the central Flinders Ranges where precious groundwater is likely to be found, handing a lifeline to residents in that region.

New accommodation and improved equine facilities are key features of a $1.6 million investment in an agricultural training centre just east of Tennant. The Juno Centre offers residential and in-reach programs to students from across the Territory.

Pam Dillon. Students from Newcastle Waters and Elliott schools recently had a day each learning the fine art of lawn bowls. Students from Family as First Teachers (FaFT) to Year 9 were involved in a variety of activities using the lawn bowls kit.

New research from the University of Wollongong, a partner at the NSW Bushfire Research Hub, has found climate change will expose larger areas of forest in coastal NSW to higher frequency and more intense fires, amplifying the changes to fire regimes brought about by the 2019/20 fires ... Amongst other findings: Previous timber harvesting did not increase the fire extent or severity of the 2019/20 fires. However, there is potential for cumulative impacts in harvested landscapes that are subject to fire, particularly in the next 5 to 10 years.

Liz Lawrence. The Sullivan name has been synonymous with Australian football in Narrandera for decades and now one of its favourite sons James Sullivan has been honoured for his commitment to the game as a teacher at St Francis de Sales Regional College. James, son of Barry and Debbie Sullivan of Narrandera, has been named as a NSW/ACT Secondary School Ambassador for the game in the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards.

Kate Scanlon. Due to COVID lockdown we haven't had many preschoolers coming to play ... but we have still been connected! Through regular emails, Class Dojo, phone calls and Zoom group times we have been able to continue our connection with children and their families.

The overwhelming success of the State’s first Outback Lifesaver program last summer will see the concept return to Wagga Wagga early next year. Wagga Wagga City Council and Royal Life Saving NSW will again partner in the delivery of the program which gives youngsters the chance to learn lifesaving water safety skills at pools and inland waterways.

Professor Andrew Beer. Across Australia, one in five regions is struggling, but the one-dimensional solutions we commonly look for don’t work ... the future prosperity of regions lies with those who live there, rather than those who govern, especially when they do so from a distance. Mobilizing regions is a matter of empowering regional leaders – making sure they have the tools needed to bring about change while enabling them to both listen to others and be heard across communities.

The $13 million Next Generation Simulator project at Waurn Ponds will allow students, researchers and industry to do cost-effective prototype testing, engineering and commercial product design of driver and driverless cars.