Riverfront Hive Tours offer educational and therapeutic take on beekeeping
The idea is to teach people to be calm in a setting where they might usually have high stress.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Nestled in Philadelphia's Navy Yard you'll find Riverfront Hive Tours.
The organization opened up its urban apiary to the public last summer. The tours offer an educational and therapeutic take on beekeeping.
The collaboration between Philadelphia-based Half Mad Honey and New Jersey-based Bees on Main St. blossomed due to their love for bees and the therapeutic properties they possess.
Visitors are given the opportunity to suit up and get up close in personal with the hives. You can also try the honey as well as other products produced at the apiary.
The main focus is apiary therapy.
"Apiary Therapy is really taking therapy outside of the clinical setting. It's an immersive and interactive therapy with honey bees. So it's always led by a beekeeper and a licensed therapist, and what we really focus on is practicing coping skills" says Amelia Mraz, owner of Half Mad Honey.
The idea is to teach people to be calm in a setting where they might usually have high stress.
The group says that making a profit on their products takes a back seat to the education and therapy sessions.
There are always people with a hesitation to be near the bees, but Bees on Main St. owner Nicole Rivera Hartery says almost everyone ends up holding a bee frame.
Tours can currently be booked online at:
