Central west film screenings

Community members in and around Orange and Cowra are invited to enjoy film screenings in National Science Week. View short films from the National Film and Sound Archive, locally produced vodcasts featuring local scientific experts by the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub, historical footage and the SCINEMA International Science Film Festival.

Science Week Vodcasts

Learn about local collaborations between scientists, environmental agencies and the community through a series of 3-minute vodcasts developed for National Science week with support from Inspiring Australia.

Featured scientists:

  • Jordan Bailey, a scientist from the NSW Department of Primary Industry Orange, who discusses her role as lead curator of the Herbarium and biosecurity.
  • Jo Lenehan from NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and members of  Orange Fibre Artists. Discover how Western Science meets Indigenous Traditional knowledge to address issues of water ecology and native endemic grasses.
  • John Daly. Meet a local farmer who is also an artist and shares his ideas on biology, pots and farming practices.

These VODCASTS produced the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub will be shown at all public screenings and events listed below.

Orange event details

Enjoy inspirational science films from the SCINEMA International Film Festival and screenings of locally produced vodcasts facilitated by the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub.

When: 6pm-10pm, Thursday 16 August 2018
Where: Orange Regional Museum
Cost: $15 includes screenings, food and drinks, $11 for Museum Friends.

Register to attend

Schools program

On 10 August and 17 August, primary and seconday school students will be welcomed to Orange Regional Museum to participate in a full day science program in partnership with the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub and the NSW Department of Primary Industries Biosecurity Collections.

Students will learn about fungi, bacteria, building bugs and DNA. They will also enjoy screenings of the SCINEMA International Film festival and locally produced vodcasts.

Cowra event details

Come to the Cowra cinema on Friday 10 August 2018 for a night of inspirational science films. As well as the SCINEMA International Film Festival, enjoy screenings of locally produced vodcasts facilitated by the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub.

When: 7-10 pm, Friday 10 August 2018
Where: Cowra Cinema
Cost: Free

Register to attend

This free event is co-hosted by Natural Resource Management Committee Cowra with support from Inspiring Australia, the CORRIDOR project and Cowra Council and presented as part of National Science Week.

About the local scientists

Jordan Bailey is the Curator of the Plant Pathology and Mycology Herbarium in Orange, NSW. It is one of the largest collections of plant diseases in Australia and the only recognised mycology collection in NSW.

The collection contains over 100,000 specimens of plant pathogens (preserved as dried plant samples infected with a virus, bacteria or fungi) as well as dried specimens of non-pathogenic fungi.

It also maintains over 6000 living cultures of bacteria and fungi. The specimens in the collection have enormous value for the agriculture industry, biosecurity and research into phylogenetics, ecological and biodiversity conservation, taxonomy and climate studies.

John Daly is a geologist, farmer and ceramicist from Cowra, NSW Growing up on the land with two potter parents meant that John naturally chose to go to university and study geology and environmental science. But upon graduation and getting a taste of the mining industry he found himself drawn back to the farm and the pots. Since then he has been using his scientific training to help run the family farm with a greater emphasis on biodiversity and monitoring, changes that are already beginning to transform the landscape and make the land more resilient to the effects of climate change. The environment is also an inspiration for John in his ceramic career, where he makes pieces that embody the intense colours and textures of the Australian landscape.

Jo Lenehan is a Water Ecologist with the Cowra Office of Environment and Heritage. During  NAIDOC week 2018 she facilitated a community engagement event at St Joseph’s Primary School in Hilston, NSW. Topics of discussion were parallels between traditional knowledge and western science and how they relate to the management of waterways.

Significantly the students school is located on the Lachlan River, downstream from the pelican breeding site at Lake Brewster and the only known population of Olive Perchlets Ambassis agassizii.

The students, led by traditional knowledge holder Uncle David Acheson, educator of Wiradjuri language, taught the students names for the animals that inhabit the river relating to sustainability and respect for country. Orange Fibre Artists Helen Worsley and Claudette Elliott demonstrated weaving techniques, the harvesting of grasses sustainably

Images courtesy of John Daly. Learn more about the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub.