Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum has completed Phase 1 of its project to preserve and improve the Joe Howell family home, which serves as offices, visitor center and gift shop. The ribbon-cutting was on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 2743 Wimpole Ave.
KBGA Executive Director Sharon Moore was joined by city council members, staff of Knoxville Housing & Neighborhood Development and East Knoxville neighbors and volunteers.
In 2024, the Howell House Visitors Center received $240,315 in Historic Preservation funding from the city of Knoxville to remediate water damage, repair the roof and do other critical work to restore this 1929 structure to its full function as the hub of these gardens – a community gem in East Knoxville, open to the public 365 days a year.
The city grant was matched with $135,000 from KBGA, including $60,000 from the Tennessee Historical Commission and support from private donors. Work between June 2024 and September 2025 addressed structural stabilization and water mitigation, included roofing, foundation, siding, masonry and lintel repairs. The work was Phase 1 of a multi-phase, planned rehabilitation of the site.
In 2021, the East Tennessee Community Design Center assessed the structure and determined it to be in significant peril. It had previously been listed on the Knox Heritage Fragile and Fading list.
The 44-acre Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, originally known as Howell Nurseries, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is free and open to the public, providing garden and green space for trail walkers and bicyclists as well as hosting educational programs and community events. KBGA also serves refugee families through community garden plots.
For more information about the gardens, visit KnoxGarden.org or call Sharon Moore at 865-862-8717.
Adaptive wheelchairs, trail improvements coming to Ijams
Legacy Parks Foundation received a $20,000 multi-year grant from the REI Cooperative Action Fund (REI) that will help make Ijams Nature Center even more accessible to all users.
The REI grant will fund the purchase of two adaptive wheelchairs and improvements to several of Ijams’ trails to ensure that they can accommodate these wheelchairs.
Ijams will manage a lending program out of its Visitor Center so that guests in need of mobility assistance can check out the adaptive wheelchairs. Legacy Parks owns two additional chairs that will be added to the program at Ijams. Two adult wheelchairs and one child wheelchair initially will be available for use free of charge, with an additional adult chair to be added in 2026.
“This is the ninth grant we’ve received from REI and all have funded greater access for all to the outdoors,” said Carol Evans, executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation. “Allowing everyone to benefit from our incredible natural assets is a value that Legacy Parks, Ijams and REI all share, and we know this work is appreciated by the community.”
Amber Parker, Ijams president and CEO, said, “We’re incredibly grateful to partner with Legacy Parks Foundation and REI to increase access for people with mobility issues on even more of our trails. We recently improved Serendipity Trail and areas around the Miller Building to make them more accessible.
“This new funding will improve the connectors from Mead’s Quarry to the Ijams Nature Playscape at Grayson Subaru Preserve and from Universal Trail to Will Skelton Greenway, as well as parts of Pink Marble Trail. I can’t wait to see more people able to access these areas, because nature is for everyone!”
The new adaptive trail improvements are part of Legacy Parks’ broader Access for All initiative, which is focused on creating adaptive trails in each quadrant of Knox County and expanding adaptive access along local waterways. Additional Access for All projects include Sharps Ridge Adaptive Trail, Dogwood Elementary Adaptive Trail, Concord Park Trails, Powell High Landing (access to Beaver Creek) and Cruze Landing (access to the French Broad River).
Advocates cut ribbon for walking path near Whittle Springs Middle School
New walking path at Whittle Springs school
A new walking path was debuted at Whittle Springs Middle School (WSMS) on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, with a ribbon-cutting at noon. The path will create a safe route for students to walk to and from school.
Nearly 30 percent of students who attend WSMS arrive and depart on foot via White Oak Lane. This stretch of road contains blind curves and hills and is without sidewalks. In the last nine years, five students have been hit by vehicles while walking to school, according to the Knox County Health Department (KCHD)
“This project offers a creative solution that will allow students to bypass a dangerous section of road on their way to and from school, said Madelyn Howe, program manager at the KCHD. “This effort represents multiple groups coming together to create an actionable solution to improve the lives of our children in Knox County.”
In 2024, KCHD was awarded a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health to construct this pathway with additional funding provided by the Siddiqi Foundation and United Way of Greater Knoxville. Through collaboration with the Safe Routes to School Partnership, Community Schools, Knox County Schools, Knoxville Parks and Recreation, Bike Walk Knoxville, Legacy Parks Foundation and KCHD, the project was completed this fall.
An official with Bike Walk Knoxville said the new pathway is “an important win for our Safe Routes to School efforts and a meaningful step toward creating safer, more walkable routes for all Knox County students. Thank you to everyone who helped make this project a reality!”
KCHD and Bike Walk Knoxville provided information and quotes for this report.
Bear says ‘Thanks!’
Last month, a black bear was seen on camera using one of the new crossing improvements along I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge. Instead of scrambling over the barrier and onto the busy highway, where it poses a danger to itself and drivers, the bear was funneled toward a safe crossing. Safe Passage is coordinating efforts to protect wildlife in the Smokies. Learn more here.
Outdoor Ice Skating
Knox County has two places to skate outdoors this holiday season:
Campbell Station Skate – through January 3 – Farragut Mayor Ralph McGill Plaza. Info: Farragut Parks and Rec at 865-218-3376. Bring family and friends to experience the synthetic ice-skating rink, surrounded by a dazzling display of holiday lights, in the heart of town. Purchase tickets online.
Holidays on Ice – through January 4 – See website for hours. Market Square. Info: City of Knoxville at 865-215-4423. Enjoy skating under the stars and twinkling lights while listening to music every night. Operating dates and hours subject to change without notice due to inclement weather; check Facebook for updates. Schedule and tickets available online.
Notes & Quotes
Tour de Lights, Holiday Bike Ride, Market & Expo, Saturday, December 13, Mary Costa Plaza 3:30 p.m. at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Costume judging for you and your bike starts at 4:15 p.m. Ride begins at 5:30. Info: Bike Walk Knoxville.
Christmas in the Park: Friday, December 19, 5-8:30 p.m., Norris Dam State Park. Free. Info: 865-426-7461. Join rangers for a vintage evening celebrating the holiday. Enjoy hot chocolate, live folk music, family-friendly crafts, silent pie auctions, story times with a ranger and a special appearance from Santa. Register online.
Keep Knoxville Beautiful’s January Saturday Spruce Up is coming to northeast Knoxville, Saturday, January 24, 2026, 10 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will pick up litter at the East Town Crossing Shopping Center, 4710 Centerline Dr., Knoxville. All willing volunteers are welcomed. Register here. (so KKB knows how many supplies to bring).
Quote: “I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.” – Shirley Temple Black, as quoted in County Living
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.
