Students and staff from the Kingdom Centre in Glenrothes with their beautifully illustrated beehives
Students are Buzzing About Saving the Bees
Fife College students are buzzing after helping a new eco campaign to promote bees within the community get off the ground.
The ‘Just Bee Cause’ campaign has been launched by the Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes to highlight the importance of bees within the ecosystem.
Students from three course areas including, Access to Construction, Access to Further Education, and Jewellery Design were excited to get involved in ‘Just Bee Cause’ and take part in designing two unique beehives.
With help from lecturer Dudley Aitchison, the three groups of students worked together to transport, prepare and design the two beehives which are made from 100 per cent recycled materials and built locally in Fife.
Student Kayleigh Anderson (23) Kirkcaldy, is studying HND Jewellery Design and Manufacture, and was delighted to help design and illustrate both beehives.
Said Kayleigh: “I like bees and have always enjoyed drawing and painting insects and including them in my creative work and so when I heard Dudley was looking for someone to do some designs for the beehives I jumped at the chance.
“It’s a busy time at College just now finishing off my course work so I took the hives home with me over Easter to complete. Before I started I did some research and found out that bees like poppies and sunflowers and so themed each of the beehives with the flowers.
“Being involved with this project was really fun – I’m all for saving the bees and it’s great to know that the bee colonies will soon be living, growing and making more bees and honey thanks to the group’s efforts.”
Steven Bushnell, 19 from Cupar, is studying Access to Construction Skills and also enjoyed taking part in the project which has improved his skills:
“Our job was to prepare the beehives before the illustrations were put on which involved sanding down, which was tricky, and then applying base and top coats of paint. It’s great to be involved in a community project and to work with students from other areas of the College - the finished design looks really good. I didn’t realise how important bees were before taking on this project.”
Lecturer Dudley Aitchison said: “What a fantastic project! We are delighted to have been able to assist the Kingdom Centre to paint and illustrate these amazing beehives. We have a wealth of very talented students at Fife College and it is great to see our students from different faculties work together to benefit the community and the environment.
“At Fife College we are committed to ensuring that our students gain as much real, practical experience as possible which mirrors what they are learning in College. This is a perfect example of this and we look forward to keeping in touch with the staff at the Centre to work on future projects and to hear how the bees settle in to their colourful new hives.”
The two beehives are now installed on Kingdom’s Shopping Centre’s land, away from the public along with their own food beds of lavender and pansies.
The campaign also includes a range of engaging activities including celebrating ‘National Bee Day’ with a visit by a ‘Bee Bus’ to the centre on Saturday, May 18. Bee workshops, sponsored by the Kingdom Shopping Centre, are also being delivered by local charity ‘Bee Buddies’ to all nurseries and schools taking part in the ‘Just Bee Cause’. Around 1000 pupils from the town will take part in the project.
David Carson, Centre Manager for Kingdom Shopping Centre, said: “We have put a lot of planning and energy into our community campaign and we are proud to deliver a number of initiatives that will really drive the message home about how important bees are to the ecosystem.
“We even have four of our staff members now trained ‘Bee Keepers’. We are proud to deliver ‘Just Bee Cause’ to the community and look forward to seeing the campaign take shape throughout 2019.”
For further details about full-time and part-time courses available at Fife College visit our course pages.
