#SAITGIVES contest sweetens the student club experience

In just over a year, the SAIT Beekeeping Club has helped more than 60,000 bees establish three hives on the roof of the John Ware Building. It has brought together a wide range of students and has become a big part of the sustainability scene on campus — but winning a prize from the 2018 #SAITGIVES Instagram Club Contest helped it truly take flight.  

That contest invited clubs to share photos of activities they could offer to students if they won. The winning clubs were given $1,000 from the SAIT Student Success Fund which was largely funded by donations from SAIT Giving Day in 2018. The Beekeeping Club was one of four winners chosen in a random draw, and the prize money helped it accomplish some ambitious goals such as buying equipment and pollen patties for its beehives, maintaining the hives and putting on apiary events.

Building a buzz

“We have three hives now, and they are all thriving — more than 60,000 bees altogether,” says 2019 club President Katie Williams. “They're all strong going into the winter. I hope they emerge healthy again so in the spring we can show students how beekeeping works, and in the fall we can show people what you can do with bee products like honey and beeswax.”

Donors to this year’s Giving Day on Wednesday, Oct. 16 have the opportunity to support student initiatives through a variety of priority funds including the SAIT Pride Award, the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race and other school-specific funds. 

Williams says it is important for SAIT students to get involved in clubs because they offer a chance to meet like-minded people from a variety of disciplines.

“I met some really cool people from other departments, and I got to be involved in the hive distribution day when my mentor, Eliese Watson from ABC Bees, installed our nucleus hives and did a demo on beekeeping,” Williams says.