Mariko Kawano is a third generation beekeeper. Her grandfather, Kaichi Kawano, taught himself beekeeping when he was a young man, living on his family farm in the 1930’s in Abbotsford, British Columbia. They both loved having their hands in the Earth and felt strongly connected to the world around them. Maryanne Cain, Mariko’s mother, also took up beekeeping and passed down her compassion for living things — even small insects.
Because of her roots it’s not surprising that Mariko opened an apiary on the rooftop of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto in 2018. She named her apiary Heiwa Honey. Heiwa, pronounced hey-wa, means peace and harmony in Japanese. This name is significant, because it combines Mariko’s Japanese heritage and her beekeeping philosophy, which stems from a strong social responsibility to help bees and pollinators.
Although bees continue to face afflictions on many fronts such as climate change, loss of habitat, poor beekeeping practices and most notably pesticide use, they continue to persevere. Mariko has witnessed this perseverance first hand, which has created a deep bond between her and her bees.
Bees are one of the few insects that can recognize human faces from one another. Because of this Mariko says her connection with her bees is much stronger than people realize. “If I bring negative energy to the apiary I can hear the hives start to get agitated. My bees know me and can sense how I’m feeling. This forces me to be mindful of the hundreds of thousands of bees in my presence. In turn I know my bees and can hear when they’re happy and thriving. It’s a sweet sound.”
