Quarry has ample parking for Urban Wilderness hikers

A new trailhead kiosk for the South Loop on Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness has been constructed at Mead's Quarry. 

The 11.5-mile loop that connects Ijams with Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area, William Hastie Natural Area and Marie Myers Park can be accessed at many points, but the Ijams' Quarry site is one of the most popular because it has ample parking. 

South Loop of Knoxville's Urban Wilderness network of trails.

"Rain, rain, go away" chant Ijams' aquatic mammals

Beaver dam once located at Forks of the River WMA east of Ijams in early January.

The heavy rainfall the second half of January has washed away the beaver dams at Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area and on Toll Creek the eastern most boundary of Ijams Nature Center.

It's too early to tell if the enterprising mammals will return and build again but it generally takes a lot to deter them.

Keep your fingers crossed. 

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales.

Ijams' educators speak at the House & Garden Show

Join us at the Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show at the Knoxville Convention Center:

Friday, February 15, 11 a.m. 

Urban Gardening: No Space too Small to Grow
Want to have a garden but have limited space? So, you don't have an acre for a garden, well, guess what? You don't need it. Join Ijams green thumb Peg Beute at the Home & Garden Show for this program filled with creative ideas for gardening with minimal space. How to take advantage of your porch, railing, condo space or apartment window and grow some herbs, veggies or flowering beauties year around! No registration necessary.

Saturday, February 16, 4 p.m.   

20 Common (But Interesting) Backyard Birds 

There may be many more birds in your backyard than you realize. Join Ijams naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales at the Home & Garden Show for a look at 20 common species, where to look them, how to ID them, attract them and provide for their basic needs. No registration necessary.

Shiitake Happens! Logs inoculated at Ijams this morning

Inoculation: to introduce microorganisms into surroundings suited to their growth, as a culture medium. In the case of shiitake mushrooms, it can be a log of your choosing.

Thanks for the grand turnout for our mushroom log inoculation workshop with Bob Hess from Everything Mushrooms! 

Participants in the Ijams workshop learned the fine art of mushroom inoculation and left with a log rife with possibilities. 

- Stephen Lyn Bales. Photos by Rita Cochran. 

Cold and snow doesn't deter Ijams crane watchers

Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of day—dare I say a very cold, cold day—deterred us from the completion of our appointed rounds.

Although several canceled because of the weather, a hardy group of well-bundled made the trip to Hiwassee to see the cranes. Oodles of sandhills were there but we sought the rare snow white whooping crane and after 30 or 40 minutes of teeth-chattering cold, we were rewarded with an excellent view of America's tallest and one of its most endangered birds.

Additionally, after a quick stop at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Overlook we got a wonderful view of a sub-adult bald eagle. 

What more could we have wanted? Except perhaps a pot-bellied stove.

Many thanks to those that ventured out on such a dreary day.

- Bird species seen on the cold outing: 1) Sandhill crane 2) Whooping crane 3) Mallard 4) Hooded Merganser 5) Great blue heron 6) Eastern bluebird 7) Song sparrow 8) Ring-billed gull 9) Double-creasted cormorant 10) Red-tailed hawk 11) Turkey vulture 12) Black vulture 13) American kestrel 14) Bald eagle

- Story by Stephen Lyn Bales. Photos by Victoria Deren and Laura Twilley.

Ijams installs new rainwater harvesting system

Collected rainwater is stored in a 1,550 gallon tank and used to water gardens in summer

Sustainability Report #7: Rainwater harvesting system

Capturing rainwater is not a new idea.  It is, in fact, a very ancient practice.  South Asia has practiced continuous rainwater collection for 8,000 years*. In many parts of the world ancient tanks, cisterns and other methods of collecting rainfall have been documented for centuries.  Changes in rainfall patterns, climate changes, and growing population contribute significantly to our need to better utilize fresh water sources.

In arid parts of the world, the reasons for collecting rainwater are obvious.  Extreme droughts like those in the 1930’s that contributed to the dust bowl are a great lesson and reminder of the dire implications of rain. My grandparents’ farm in west Texas has two tanks that are the pivot point of all discussions on the health of the farm.  These tanks, one for our cattle and one for the house, have been dry or almost dry for the past two decades.  Conserving water was never far from our minds.

Here, in East Tennessee however, as I sit inside on yet another rainy day, it is hard to imagine a shortage of water.  So, why collect rainwater?  Well sometimes too much of a good thing is not a good thing.  Surface runoff can contribute to erosion and pollution. One way to prevent this runoff is collect rainwater from our roofs.  

Ijams Nature Center has just installed its first rainwater harvesting system with the help of a local company called Rainwater Resources.  The system collects rain from approximately 1,125 sq. ft. of roof (or 4 of 6 downspouts) and holds it in a 1,550 gallon tank at the corner of the building.  This water will be used to irrigate our terrace gardens and any overflow will be routed into a water feature currently under construction. 

If you would like to know more about ways to harvest this valuable resource, visit www.rainwaterresources.com . Systems can be retrofitted or planned into new development and can qualify for LEED points.

- Story by Ben Nanny. Photo: Stephen Lyn Bales

Ijams: things that go bump in the night bumped to Feb. 2

The icy cold fingers of winter 

have forced us to move our 

Ghost Hunting 101 and Paranormal activities to 

Saturday, February 2.

Call for more information: (865) 577-4717, x. 110. 

Bruce McCarty, designer of Ijams Visitor Center, passes away

Ijams Visitor Center designed by Bruce McCarty

Ijams is saddened to learn of the passing of local architect Bruce McCarty. He was 92 and a good friend of the nature center.

"Bruce McCarty, Knoxville’s gentleman modernist, died, a few days after his 92nd birthday. Designer or co-designer of several of Knoxville’s largest, iconically modernistic buildings, McCarty also designed houses early in his career. Among them was a 1955 model home in West Hills, one astonishing at the time—its roof cantilevered from a core structure—that begat dozens of copies across the nation. McCarty had an extraordinary distinction for an architect: He lived to see one of his own creations, that peculiar house on West Hills Road, listed on the National Register of Historic Places," writes Metro Pulse writer Jack Neely.

In the mid-1990s, McCarty designed the Visitor Center at Ijams.

For more information go to Knox News.

Ijams educators celebrate with 'Holidays at Hogwarts'

Magic of Nature brewed at Ijams

Recently, the Ijams education department hosted Holidays at Hogwarts, a celebration of the magic of nature. 

Participants, ages 5 and up, took their favorite First Year courses including Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration. 

Parents took a break from hectic shopping, and joined us as we transformed Ijams into a world of witchcraft and wizardry! 

Great fun was had by all, especially the wizardly teaching staff!

Holiday at Hogwarts wizardly teaching staff

Stephen Lyn speaks at Foothills Land Conservancy meeting

In Search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Tuesday, December 18, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Blount Memorial Wellness Center 

220 Associates Blvd. - Alcoa, TN

Stephen Lyn Bales, an Ijams senior naturalist and author, will speak tomorrow evening about his latest book Ghost Birds: Jim Tanner and the Quest for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, 1935-1941. 

It is the compelling story of Jim Tanner, the only ornithologist to conduct an in-depth study of the largest woodpecker to live in the United States, the legendary ghost bird of the South. Tanner’s fieldwork in the 1930s while a grad student at Cornell University provide a detailed look into the natural history of this species that may or may not be extinct.
 

Several copies of Ghost Birds have been donated by UT Press to Foothills Land Conservancy and they will be available for sale during the presentation with 100 percent of the proceeds going to FLC. They will make great holiday gifts!
 

Bales has a second book, called Natural Histories, and has also written for Smithsonian magazine and is a regular contributor to The Tennessee Conservationist magazine. Bales is also a regular speaker at Wilderness Wildlife Week and other venues.
 

For more info, please call Elise at (865) 681-8326.

•

Clean windows: a nightmare for birds

Ijams wildlife biologist Pam Petko-Seus comforts a young yellow-bellied sapsucker that had just flown into a window in the Visitor Center. Luckily, it was able to pull itself together and fly away.

What is the number one killer of birds in this country? Is it hunters? Or perhaps cats?

Well, actually it’s neither.

It’s estimated that hunters kill roughly 15 million waterfowl a year. Hunting season is carefully managed and it is only legal to kill game birds in season.

Cars may kill 60 million birds annually. 

Collisions with high-tension lines may kill up to 174 million birds per year. And it’s estimated that domestic and feral cats may kill as many as 500 million birds per year.

BUT, the number one killer of birds is the seemingly benign panes of glass we all have in our homes and office buildings. Yes, glass. It’s estimated that window strikes perhaps kill as many as 976 million birds a year. That’s almost one billion!

A bird doesn’t see the glass but rather the reflection of the sky. It flies into an illusion (I think many of us are guilty of that) but for a bird, it often breaks its neck.

What can you do? Place decals, tape strips of ribbon, dark paper hawk silhouettes or some other object on the surface to let a bird know that there is something more there than meets the eye.

The above sapsucker flew into one of the windows that we do not have a decal on. Pam was able to pick up and hold the bleary-eyed thing, keeping it warm, thus avoiding shock. In time, it recovered and flew away. 

A silhoulette of a raptor taped on a window is often all that is needed to prevent birds from flying into the glass. 

Reclaiming the land: Capping a 2.5 acre brownfield at Ijams

Years ago, the quarries section of the park was mined for limestone marble. A lime kiln, operated by the Williams Lime Manufacturing company, burned the waste limestone to make quicklime. The lime was sold for agriculture and was also used in smelting iron, white wash paint, plaster, cement and gun powder.  

The waste material from the kiln was dumped all around the property.  The area across from the quarries parking lot, north of the greenway, is now being reclaimed. The Blount Excavating Company is currently bringing in fill soil from construction sites at the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee School for the Deaf. 

- Story by Ed Yost. Photos by Stephen Lyn Bales.  

Ijams' new addition adds to Knoxville's Urban Wilderness

Ijams new addition (Burnett Property) adds more green space to
South Knoxville's Urban Wilderness network of trails.

Following the acquisition of a new 22-acre property, Ijams Nature Center has expanded to 300 acres, further enhancing the South Loop on Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. 

The new property, which lies between Sevierville Pike and Ijams’ Quarries (left side of the above map), is also a critically important wooded ridge top in South Knoxville. Adding it to existing acreage ensures that natural views are forever protected and new trails will provide opportunities for both active and passive recreation.

The seller, Mr. Jon Burnett, has long envisioned his property to be a part of the Ijams Park. Mr. Burnett grew up near the original Ijams family home on Island Home Avenue and his sister, Helene, was a close friend of Mary Ijams, one of the Ijams daughters. Mr. Burnett also served as attorney for the City of Knoxville and was an early Ijams Board Member during the 1960s. The Burnett family is now thrilled that their land will be preserved and enjoyed by all for years to come.

The property, including several miles of new multi-use trails will open to the public in early 2013.

For more information about Knoxville's Urban Wilderness go to: Outdoor Knoxville

- Story by Paul James

Knoxville Garden Club sponsors new Arboretum Trail

Ijams Nature Center and the Knoxville Garden Club jointly celebrated a new trail experience at Ijams in September 2012. 

The Arboretum Trail, featuring 38 species of trees, is sponsored by the Knoxville Garden Club, which has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Ijams. Significantly, the new trail also commemorates the Garden Club of America’s Centennial celebration throughout 2013 and therefore is a direct tribute to the Garden Club of America Legacy Tree Initiative.

The Knoxville Garden Club played a pivotal role in establishing the original Ijams Nature Park on the Ijams family grounds in 1965. Since then, the park has grown to encompass almost 300 protected acres with a strong educational mission to encourage environmental stewardship through engaging outdoor experiences for all people.

In addition to tree identification markers, a series of interpretative signs help visitors develop a better understanding of the rich diversity of trees throughout the park and the important role trees play in our environment. The trail meanders from the Visitor Center over to the Home Site.

- Story by Paul James. Signs written by Jennifer Roder. 

Charge it! Plug in your electric vehicle at Ijams

Sustainability Report #6

An electric vehicle charging station, also called EV charging station, supplies electric energy for the recharging of plug-in electric vehicles, including all-electric cars, neighborhood electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. 

As of June 2012, the United States had almost 8,000 public charging stations, of which about 2,000 are located in California. Norway, the world's leader in electric car ownership per capita, has 3,239 free public charging points.

Knoxville is home to a growing number of electric vehicles. And now owners can charge their autos at Ijams! Look for the blue sign in the parking lot near the hawk enclosure.

The charging stations are among a series of units installed around Knoxville as part of an EV Project, which is introducing Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt electric vehicles in test markets across the country. 

The EV Project has been coordinated by the City of Knoxville and is a partnership between ECOtality, Nissan North America and General Motors. 

Find more stations at: EV locations

Owners must be registered with Blink and have a Blink card to use the EV Chargers.

Fall Fairy House Festival held at Ijams

Last Saturday, Ijams celebrated the golden beauty of autumn with a Fall Fairy House Festival. A total of 49 natural gnome and fairy abodes (plus a few hobbit holes) were built by young visitors and their families in the fading light of a warm autumnal sun.  


Ijams provided all the earthy materials the youthful builders needed. They in turn brought the creativity, proving again that in natural play, all a child needs are sticks, berries, leaves and a little imagination. 

You really do not have to spend hundreds of dollars on toys and video games for your young ones when good old-fashioned sticks will do. Speaking of such: the humble stick—the mainstay of creative play for centuries—was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2008. For the complete list of other (more expensive) honorees go to Toy Hall of Fame. Oh, what fun!

After the builders finished their fairy houses, we are told that after dark the woodland sprites ventured forth to take up residence in their newly constructed village.

- Jennifer Roder. Photos by Stephen Lyn Bales.