University of Utah
IN-26: Innovation C

Innovation A student-led project reacts to global decline of pollinators by installing and managing beehives on campus. Description The Campus Beehive Network is a student-initiated project that has become a stellar example of how a few students can have an impact in the face of a global problem. IN Spring 2012 the Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund (SCIF) awarded a grant for the University of Utah Apiary Project to install two beehives on the Union Building 3rd floor balcony, a location conducive for beehives and save visitor observation. This was the beginning of what would become the University of Utah Beekeeper’s Association. Two more SCIF grants in, and 2014 funded Beekeeping Expansion and Continued Support including beehives, protective gear and promotional materials. The U of U Beekepers Association currently has 12 hives, and a threefold mission of pollination for campus, education and research. The Beehives have been important to community engaged learning, in particular for Global Environmental issues (BIOL 3460) Wildlife Ecology (BIOL 2400), and Entomology (BIOL 5445), and the Beekeepers have developed a youth education program for children ages 6-12. The U of U Beekeepers Association is now one of the largest beekeeping clubs in the state and has partnered with the Utah Department of Agriculture to improve wintertime hive inspections.

SOURCES University of Utah Beekeepers Association. [Facebook] URL: https://www.facebook.com/University-of-Utah-Beekeepers-Association-179824452182911/ The Campus Bees: A Bigger Picture. in "SCIF 5 Year Report, 2010-2015," Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund. pp. 20-21. Campus is Buzzing: An Interview with the University of Utah Beekeepers Association. Sustainable Utah [blog], April 20, 2016. URL: https://sustainableutah.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/campus-is-buzzing-an-interview-with-the-university-of-utah-beekeepers-association/ The U’s Bees: Campus beehives provide learning opportunities as well as pollination. Continuum Magazine. Summer 2014. URL: http://continuum.utah.edu/departments/the-us-bees Emilie Trepanier. Bees are all the buzz around campus. Daily Utah Chronicle, February 26, 2014. URL: http://dailyutahchronicle.com/2014/02/26/bees-are-all-the-buzz-around-campus/ Beekeeping at the U. Sustainable Utah [blog], April 15, 2013 URL: https://sustainableutah.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/beekeeping-at-the-u/