When Tommy Schumpert was Knox County executive, he looked for county-owned land to expand parks. One site was handy to Fountain City and the Gibbs community – Beverly Park was created on land that was part of Hillcrest nursing home.
It started as a Par 3 golf course, a starter course for kids. Knox County used money from the Boyd family and PetSafe to install a dog park. And Legacy Parks Foundation, thanks to a $150,000 grant from Trinity Health Foundation of East Tennessee, is installing an intergenerational playspace on the land.
The playspace will feature an ellipse-shaped central activity area surrounded by a walking track with handrail. Inside the ellipse will be the therapeutic zone and play area featuring equipment for both intergenerational play and physical exercise.
The playspace overlooks the new dog park and will connect to the existing paved loop. Benches and a walking storybook trail feature will be added to the loop encouraging users to walk the loop to read the story – an ideal intergenerational activity.
Volunteers needed for River Rescue
Ijams Nature Center is looking for volunteer site captains for its 34th annual Ijams River Rescue on Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The deadline to sign up to be a captain is Feb. 15.
This one-day cleanup annually brings together 500-800 volunteers to remove between 10-40 tons of trash from the Tennessee River’s shorelines and tributary creeks.
Sponsors to date include Tennessee Valley Authority, city of Knoxville Stormwater Engineering, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Vulcan Materials Company, Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, Waste Connections of Tennessee and Thompson Engineering. The deadline to be a sponsor is Feb. 15. Contact Cindy Hassil to be a captain or a sponsor.
Now let’s look at some outdoors events coming this week:
Saturday, February 11
Volunteer Workday: 9-noon, Seven Islands State Birding Park. Free. Info: Seven Islands State Birding Park at 715-630-6848. Volunteers are needed to remove invasive plant species; privet, honeysuckle, winter creeper and multiflora rose. Hand tools provided. Register online.
Sunday, February 12
Galentine’s Day Joy Ride: noon, Loyston Point Trails. Free. Info: AMBC Joy Ride. Celebrate lady friends and our one true love … bikes. E-bikes welcome. Details online.
Monday, February 13
Fun Run: 6:30 p.m. Bearden Beer Market. Free. Info: Bearden Beer Market at 865-851-8922. Social run leaving from Bearden Beer Market. Check Facebook for details and updates.
Tuesday, February 14
Harvey Broome Group monthly meeting: 7 p.m. TN Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Free. Info: Harvey Broom Sierra Club. Meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month and is open to the public. Details online.
Thursday, February 16
Trail Fun Run: 6:30 p.m., Meads Quarry. Free. Info: 865 Running. Join us every Thursday, weather permitting! We’ll have short and middle range options available. Alliance will have $1 off pints after the run for participants.
Friday, February 17
Skills for Sharing Nature – Feb 17-19: 9 a.m., GSM Institute at Tremont. Info: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont at 865-448-6709. Register online.
Likin’ Lichens at Tremont – Feb 17-19: 9 a.m., GSM Institute at Tremont. Info: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont at 865-448-6709. Register online.
Saturday, February 18
Old City Open: 8:30 a.m., Morningside Park. Info: Knoxville Disc Golf Association. C-tier · PDGA-sanctioned singles tournament. Details and registration online.
Third Saturday Hike: 9 a.m., UT Arboretum Auditorium. Free. Info: UT Arboretum at 865-483-3571. Details online.
Sunday, February 19
Whitestone 30k and 30k Relay Road/Trail: 7:50 a.m., Whitestone Inn on Watts Bar Lake. Info: Knoxville Track Club. Trail Race starts at 7:50 a.m., Road Race starts at 8 a.m. Rolling, scenic and rural course runs through the countryside. Register online.
Visit us online at OutdoorKnoxville.com Add your event to our calendar: Submit an Event at https://outdoorknoxville.com/events-calendar/submit-an-event/
Carol Evans is executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation.