Summer paints Collier Preserve in multiple shades of green. We all got a tour on Saturday, August 15, 2026, as three Master Gardeners talked about plants in the watershed.

Collier Preserve is on W. Emory Road adjacent to the Powell Branch Library. The area has changed since Bob Collier and his brother sat on their grandma Moore’s porch and counted cars on a two-laned Emory Road. Sometimes it might be just one or two an hour.

Apartments and condos are now on either side of the Preserve. And that’s OK. People need a place to live. But Bob and Louise Collier realized that people also need a respite to recharge. Bob Collier was a medical doctor, a surgeon, who felt led to preserve the balance of his grandmother’s farmland. “It was given to me,” he said.

What a marvelous gift to Legacy Parks Foundation. Conservation easements prevent building structures on the land forever. And the park was developed with Dr. Collier’s direct input and turned over to Knox County.

Enter the Master Gardeners. These folks, predominately women, are trained at the University of Tennessee Ag Extension Service and agree to volunteer time each month to maintain their certification. Master Gardeners participate in 13 parks and public spaces in Knox County. Some, like the Knoxville Botanical Garden, have on-site management, but the Gardeners are the experts on plants.

Through their efforts, both the 44-acre Knoxville Botanical Garden at 2743 Wimpole Ave. in East Knoxville and the 12-acre Collier Preserve are designated arboreta – based on the variety of trees on site, the labeling and other criteria.

This month, Janet Cushman, Claudia Kirk and Elizabeth Lanni were the Master Gardeners on hand with Lanni leading the discussion. She observed that plants need water to survive, but plants also can help the watershed.

Collier Preserve has a spring fed water source and, of course, a shoreline of Beaver Creek. Bob Collier talked about his granny’s old mule, Red, who always drank from the spring rather than the creek if given a choice.

Master Gardeners are working to remove invasive plants from the Preserve as they plant native species, which provide food for birds. This was a working farm with much of the land cleared at one time. But the trees have grown back. It’s a perfect habitat for wood ducks – which nest in hollow trees and like to live near running water.

Lanni said the Saturday Walks with a Master Gardener run from March through October. Those of us who live in Powell should pitch in and help maintain this community asset. The designated leaders for Collier Preserve are Claudia Kirk, a retired UT veterinarian, and Ellen Morar. To learn more and to reach them email collierpreserve@knoxcountymastergardener.org

Karns has ‘Music in the Grove’

Some folks may play harder, but no one works harder than the volunteers in the Karns Community Club, the Karns Fair and the Beaver Creek Kayak Club. The common denominator? Brent Howell and Charlie Austin.

Go, Timberwinds!

We wrote a couple of weeks ago about Brent and Charlie, their sons and friends building a performance stage in the grove of cedar trees behind the Karns Community Center, 7708 Oak Ridge Hwy.

The first concert was Saturday, August 15, 2026, with the Timberwinds. And what a show. Fast-paced music from Willie Nelson to “I’ll Fly Away.” Lighting was perfect as the sun set. And the sound was awesome. And then we noticed. No wires. The guys had put the utilities underground.

Parking is recommended at the back lot of Karns Elementary School. The crew had added wooden steps, steep but well-lit. It’s a bring-your-own-lawn-chair type of event, but a food truck was on-site and volunteers had water at a table nearby. And restrooms are a step away in the Community Center.

Let’s leave it here with Brent Howell, president of the Karns Community Club whose family moved to Karns in 2003. “It’s great to be alive and live in Karns!” The next concert will be Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. See you there!

Sue Clancy greenway extension is open

Mayor Kincannon listens as Sue Clancy thanks those gathered. (Photos provided by the city of Knoxville)

Sue Clancy with family members. (And if I can catch one, I’ll add their names for the record.)

“It was great to cut the ribbon and officially open the new Sue Clancy Greenway in Fountain City,” Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon posted. “This important connector was built in-house in collaboration with the landowners – the Berry family, Berry Lynnhurst Funeral Home and Lynnhurst Cemetery, KUB and The Park at Fountain City apartments.”

Sue Clancy is a Knoxville legend as the city’s first special events director. She started Christmas in the City and managed the city’s bicentennial celebration. Her old boss, former Mayor Victor Ashe attended the event along with Sue Clancy herself and several family members.

The greenway had a one-mile “missing link” until the ceremony on August 18, 2026. It connects Adair Park and residents living north of I-640 / Broadway with neighborhoods and destinations south of Sharp’s Ridge.

Run or bike next Saturday

Escape From Brushy Mtn State Pen 5k: Ever thought about breaking out of a maximum-security prison in a remote and (possibly) dangerous area? Now is your chance. Sign up for the Knoxville Track Club’s inaugural Escape from Brushy Mountain 5k. The race starts at 7:30 a.m., Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the former (and surely haunted) prison in Petros, Tennessee. Info and registration here.

Tour de Mater: Rather bike? Try this Rutledge, Tennessee, bike trek through the famous tomato growing area of Grainger County. The race starts at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, August 29. Benefits children’s charities and the Shop with a Cop program. Lunch (guess what!) provided at the finish. Register online.

Notes & quotes

Bluegrass Festival at Big Ridge State Park is today – Friday, August 21, 6-10 p.m. Free admission, food trucks, craft vendors and music by five local groups. Bring your lawn chair. Info and updates here.

Knox Asian Festival is Sunday, August 30, 2026, 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. at World’s Fair Park. Tickets and details here.

Cars for Canines will be Saturday, August 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST at Melton Lake Park. Sponsored by Explore Oak Ridge, the classic car show will benefit Oak Ridge Animal Shelter and Anderson County Humane Society. Food trucks, live entertainment, low-cost microchipping and rabies vaccinations. Free admission for spectators. Pets on leashes or in carriers welcomed. Info here.

Outdoor Knoxville lists hundreds of activities, many free, all outdoors.

Quote: “In my deepest troubles, I frequently would wrench myself from the persons around me and retire to some secluded part of our noble forests.” – John James Audubon

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Sandra Clark compiles obituary links and writes daily at KnoxTNToday – the Let’s Talk series includes topics of law, neighbors, schools, leaders and outdoors. Enjoyed this article? Read more Let’s Talk – Outdoors by Sandra Clark.

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