Be part of this story. Help the legacy continue for the next 50 years.
On Nov. 8, 2025, Ijams Nature Center will celebrate a remarkable milestone: 50 years of serving East Tennessee and beyond as a nonprofit dedicated to nature, education, and stewardship.
​
Fifty years of walking trails, watching birds, and learning. Fifty years of caring for and restoring the land. Fifty years of continuing the legacy that H.P. and Alice Ijams began more than a century ago when they bought 20 acres along the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn., to raise their family.
Ijams’ story weaves across generations. It began as one family’s homesite and gardens. It grew into a bird sanctuary, became a small park, and is now one of the largest nature education centers in the country, serving more than 620,000 visitors each year on 320 acres featuring a lake, ponds, river access, a climbing crag, miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking, a visitor center, and engaging world-class programs.
H.P. and Alice’s great great grandson now toddles through these spaces; he’s starting his own story.
Is Ijams part of YOUR story? Maybe your first field trip was to Ijams. Maybe a friend brought you here for a hike. Or maybe you discovered it on your own and now your grandchildren (or great-grandchildren) run through its meadows and dipnet in its ponds.
Maybe Ijams hasn't been a part of your story...yet.
What has sustained Ijams in the past, and what will carry it into the next 50 years, is people like YOU. It’s because YOU believe that nature is important, that children should play in the wild, and that a community is richer when it celebrates its natural history.
The world is richer when protected wild lands offer a place of respite, support native species, and educate and inspire everyone to be good stewards of the natural world.​
Be part of this story.
If you have a story to share, please share your story here.
​
To help celebrate Ijams Nature Center's golden anniversary and allow Ijams to continue to be part of everyone's story:
-
Please make a gift of $50 (or whatever is meaningful to you) before Dec. 31, 2025.​
​​
-
Become a member of Ijams Nature Center. ​​
Thank you!
Activities & Events
GivingTuesday Matching
Challenge 12/2/25 (Coming Soon!)
.png)