Calendar of Events

Get your garden ready with exceptional quality plants while supporting a great cause!
Saturday, April 26th (Rain Date: April 27th) 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM at Crafty Bastard Brewery (6 Emory Place)

Join us for a fantastic day of gardening, community, and craft brews at Crafty Bastard Brewery! Connect with fellow plant lovers, stock up on high-quality plants, and support a great cause—all proceeds from the plant sale will directly benefit our farm’s outreach, educational programs, and produce distribution initiatives.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1721496918713135/

On the Oak Ridge Reservation, located in east Tennessee, over 1100 vascular plants, 72 fish, 34 mammals and over 200 bird species have been observed. The public is invited to nature walks designed to highlight not only the rich flora and fauna diversity of the reservation, but also to demonstrate the work being done to sustainably manage and conserve this resource. Walks will take place on several locations across the Oak Ridge Reservation beginning in late winter through late summer. Reservations must be made in advance by noon the Thursday prior to each walk by contacting Nick Oldham 865-341-3670 (oldhamnv@ornl.gov). More information about these walks is available by contacting Trent Jett at 865-574-9188 (jettrt@ornl.gov).

Bird nature walk – Freels Bend
Date: Saturday, April 26
Location: Meet at the parking lot behind (i.e. south of) the ORISE building at the corner of Bethel Valley and Pumphouse Roads
Time: 8:00a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Leader: Sarah Darling, Kelly Roy, and Neil Giffen (ORNL)
Limit: 25 (children are allowed)
Walking will be over dirt/gravel roads (distance 1-2 miles). Dress in layers, wear sturdy shoes, and bring bug spray, field guide to birds, binoculars, and water. We should see birds of prey and many sparrows in the extensive native grass fields, migrating warblers in the early successional and mature forested areas, and wading birds in the waters along the Clinch River. No pets please.

Join Ijams Nature Center and an incredible lineup of partners—including Zoo Knoxville, Discover Life in America, Sierra Club, Seven Islands State Birding Park, and the City of Knoxville—for a weekend of exploration, discovery, and community science as part of the global City Nature Challenge 2025! This exciting weekend of FREE BioBlitz workshops invites participants of all ages to explore local biodiversity across fungi, birds, flowering plants, insects, and more. The goal? To identify and record as many wild organisms as possible using the iNaturalist app—a global citizen science tool.

Learn from expert naturalists and scientists
Explore specific topics like birding, bugs, fungi, trees, and pollinators
Record observations using the free iNaturalist app
Participate in a global initiative to document local wildlife
Contribute to scientific data while having fun outdoors!

Workshop Schedule: April 25 @ Ijams Nature Center
Ijams After Dark: BioBlitz Edition (7:00–10:00 PM)

April 26 @ Ijams Nature Center
Spring Birding (Two sessions: 8:00 AM)
Trees & Flowering Plants (10:00 AM–12:00 PM | 1:00–3:00 PM)
Fungi, Ferns, & Mosses (10:00 AM–12:00 PM | 1:00–3:00 PM)
Bugs & Grubs (10:00 AM–12:00 PM | 1:00–3:00 PM)
Pollinator Palooza (10:00 AM–12:00 PM | 1:00–3:00 PM)
Aventura en Español: Edición BioBlitz (1:00–3:00 PM)

April 27 @ Seven Islands State Birding Park
Seven Islands

Important: All participants are asked to download and set up the iNaturalist app before attending. While workshops are free, they are part of a larger community-driven effort to catalog life around us—so come ready to observe, record, and discover! Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP in advance. Let’s show the world what incredible biodiversity East Tennessee has to offer! https://www.ijams.org/bioblitz2024

4/18 • Evening Paddle
4/18 • Big Night Hike
Nature in Percussion - 4/19 @ 1 pm - Hear talented UT percussionists perform at this FREE concert!
4/20 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga with Hope Irwin
4/22 • Nature Nerd Trivia
4/24 • Pickin' on Nature Bluegrass Show
4/24 • Bike with a Naturalist
4/25 • Ijams After Dark: Bioblitz Edition
4/25 • Evening Paddle
4/26 Starting at 8 am - City Nature Challenge 2025
4/26 @ 10 am - Hat on a Ball Felting Workshop
4/27 @ 10 am - Flower Power - Felted Flower Basics Workshop
4/27 @ 1 pm - Self-Care Sunday Yoga
4/27 @ 1:30 pm - Felted Needle Case Workshop
4/29 @ 7 pm - Night of Celtic Tales with the Smoky Mountain Storytellers
5/2 • Outlandish Adventure Festival - Friday Night Paddle on the River
5/2 • Outlandish Adventure Festival - World Paddle Adventure Film Festival
5/3 • Outlandish Adventure Festival
5/9 • A Wildflower Affair

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Visitor Center open daily 10-6; grounds and trails open daily from 8 AM - dusk. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

It's fun, free, and easy! The Hike-a-Thon is free to register and you can participate from anywhere in the world. This month-long competition in April supports the protection of our lands and waters—where people and nature can thrive. https://campaigns.tenngreen.org/event/hike-a-thon2025/

TennGreen Land Conservancy empowers landowners and communities to protect large, connected natural areas that support diversity of life, inspire appreciation of nature, and spark action to protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the land that sustains us all. To learn more, visit tenngreen.org.

2025 Featured Dogwood Trails: Holston Hills & Morningside. The Dogwood Trails are open annually from April 1-30th, just in time to showcase the beauty of spring in East Tennessee! Knoxville’s iconic Dogwood Trails date back to 1955 and today cover more than 90 miles in 13 neighborhoods throughout the city. Take a drive, a walk, or a bike ride and enjoy the scenic natural beauty of our region.

No RSVP required. Please email vbaumgartner@dogwoodarts.com or call (865) 637-4561 with questions or concerns.

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

The Smithsonian’s National Collection of Fishes X-rays represent more than 70 percent of the world’s fish specimens and is the largest and most diverse collection of its kind in the world. Although the X-rays featured in the national collection were made for research purposes, the strikingly elegant images demonstrate the natural union of science and art and are a visual retelling of the evolution of fish. X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out, an exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), showcases these dramatic prints exposing the inner workings of the fish.

The exhibition features 32 black-and-white digital prints of different species of fish. Arranged in evolutionary sequence, these X-rays give a tour through the long stream of fish evolution. The X-rays have allowed Smithsonian and other scientists to study the skeleton of a fish without altering the specimen, making it easier for scientists to build a comprehensive picture of fish diversity.

The exhibition also includes specimens from the collections of the McClung Museum, the Etnier Ichthyological Collection, and the Vertebrate Osteology Collection to highlight research happening with fish specimens at the University of Tennessee.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Tu-Sa 9-5, Sun 12-4. Information: 865-974-2144, https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/