Displaying items by tag: knoxville

KnoxFill founder Dr. Michaela Barnett was recently featured on WUOT to address trash and sustainability.  KnoxFill

This article was originally published on WUOT in a collaboration with students from the University of Tennessee's Department of Journalism and Media

Two Knoxville-based startups are tackling the challenges of waste and sustainability, one household at a time

KnoxFill, founded by Dr. Michaela Barnett, is the city’s only refillery, and provides household and food products, ranging from shampoo and laundry detergent to coffee and tea.

Vitriform3D, a 3D printer technology focused on using glass waste and converting it into architectural building products, was founded by Alex Stiles, PhD and Dustin Gilmer, PhD.

Both businesses are filling a void left by a lack of state and local policies to address sustainability issues, and by the logistics challenges of recycling. “We know from the science that recycling can be part of a sustainable waste management program, but it really comes after trying to reduce source waste,” Barnett said. “Recycling really should be a last resort.”

Vitriform3D offers consumers the chance to recycle, and know that their recyclables are also being re-used. Knoxville has long lacked easy glass recycling capabilities; currently, residents have to transport their own glass to one of five repositories around the city. “We’re launching a service we call Fourth & Glass, Stiles said. “That is Knoxville’s first dedicated glass only recycling program. We do have the equipment to handle glass and turn it into new products.”

Ijams Nature Center Executive Director Amber Parker poses with opossum Opal. She was an Ijams animal ambassador for more than three years. “She came to us after her mother was hit by a car and Opal would fit in the palm of your hand. Sadly, Opal passed away earlier this year. Opossums live short lives, usually about three years, so Opal had a nice long one by opossum standards. She was beloved by all and we miss her.” Courtesy Ijams Nature Center

Each year more than 600,000 people visit Ijams Nature Center

This is the second installment of an occasional series, Hellbent, profiling citizens who work to preserve and improve the Southern Appalachian environment.

KNOXVILLE — On any given day, the parking lot at Ijams Nature Center in South Knoxville is packed with cars, trucks, and buses as folks of all ages flock to hike, climb, swim and paddle its 300-plus acres of protected wildlands.

Making sure the center’s 620,000 or so annual visitors have a positive experience interacting with Mother Nature requires dozens of full-time employees plus a generous contingent of volunteers. Ensuring the complex operation stays on course and within its $1.8 million operating budget is a tough job, but Ijams Executive Director Amber Parker has been doing it for six years now and has no desire to be doing anything else.

When Amber talks about Ijams she fairly bursts with giddy, infectious energy. This is a woman who has clearly found her place in the world, and even a brief walk along any of the center’s 21 trails makes one wonder if the land itself hasn’t responded in like fashion to her devotion.

This mighty oak is but one of many growing for decades in South Knoxville.  Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

Contribute to the master plan to grow tree canopy in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE — No matter where you are in the city, you’re not far from a patch or two of trees.

These copses range from small groupings of oaks or dogwoods that are commonly used to mark property boundaries to lush belts of temperate mixed-hardwood forest that sprawl across hundreds of acres. 

While Knoxville may be blessed with an abundance of these urban forests, many local residents and leaders believe it’s nowhere near enough.

KNOXVILLE — People assembled at 6 p.m. Aug. 19 to speak for the trees threatened by development of an art installment at the half-acre Cradle of Country Music Park at the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill Drive downtown.

The Harvey Broome Chapter of the Sierra Club organized the protest against the removal of five mature oak trees to make way for the sculpture and its base, which was originally commissioned to a New York City artist in 2018 and will cost the city $600,000, according to reporting from Compass. The online news outlet also reported Friday that Councilwoman Seema Singh has requested a pause in the project to determine whether there are alternatives to removing the trees.

The city of Knoxville has started a pilot composting project for residents and restaurants. Come meet cool people and learn more about limiting food waste and sip some beers April 9 at Crafty Bastard Brewery. City of Knoxville 

Learn how to reduce food waste Saturday at Crafty Bastard Brewery 

Paige Travis is a public information specialist for the city of Knoxville.

KNOXVILLE — The Waste and Resources Management Office invites the public to learn how to reduce food waste and drink a special brew Saturday, April 9 at the culmination of Tennessee Food Waste Awareness Week.

“The city of Knoxville is committed to reducing the amount of food waste that we put into our landfill,” said Waste and Resources Manager Patience Melnik, whose department recently launched the Knoxville Compost Pilot Project.

Hellbender Press previously reported on efforts to reduce food waste at the University of Tennessee.

Knoxville Community Media (KCM)

KCM’s Community Engagement Calendar provides information about both, date-specific events and the regular programs & services provided by nonprofit organizations.

Many people still think it is necessary to have a TV cable connection to watch community TV programs. But that’s old history.

One does not even need to be in the City of Knoxville or anywhere near it, nor have a TV set anymore.

Well-known Knoxville white supremacist and ‘cultured thug’ dies of apparent accidental gunshot wound to head 

Originally published by Hard Knox Wire

A Knoxville man who earned widespread notoriety as a leader in the violent white nationalist movement died last week after he was shot in the head in South Knox County.

Follow the latest Knoxville crime and justice news from Hard Knox Wire.

WBIR: Knoxville air quality data indicates sustained improvements

The Knox County Health Department reports that fine particles declined by half between 2007 and 2018. Ozone levels also remained below national standards during that period. The combined pollution reductions — achieved through tighter emissions standards on power plants and vehicles — have resulted in the cleanest air in Knox County since 1999, according to the Health Department.

Here’s a link to the full 2019 Knox County Community Health Assessment.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be virtual but will include all of the aspects of our in-person conference from the comfort of your own home. You will be able to attend workshops, hear remarks from Mayor Kincannon, visit information booths and more.

Conference details and registration

Open to everyone—neighborhood leaders, members and participants of neighborhood organizations and any city resident interested in the quality of life in Knoxville’s neighborhoods.

Not all of the Knoxville Urban Wilderness is true wilderness, of course. This monoculture field of sunflowers planted at the Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area does, however, attract lots of wildlife.  Courtesy Visit Knoxville

Spring study to quantify visitation, economic impact

“It’s something special for Knoxville and defines us as a recreational community,” said city Deputy Chief of Economic and Community Development Rebekah Jane Justice. She was named the city’s first Urban Wilderness Coordinator in July 2017, and is still the city’s go-to expert on this ambitious, ongoing land-preservation and recreational project. “It’s about so many things, including building our local economy in a unique way.” 

Now that the Urban Wilderness is more established, actual numbers about usage are more easily captured than when Sims authored his paper. Matthew Kellogg of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club said that his club received an equipment grant from the International Mountain Bicycling Association for trail-counter devices to quantify how many people use the trails — and where and when. Currently Kellogg’s group is calibrating 11 newly placed trail counters in the Urban Wilderness. By spring, the group hopes to be collecting reliable data. 

Among the things this data will be used for is a multi-year study by University of Tennessee kinesiology and recreation professor Eugene Fitzhugh, a frequent lecturer about urban trails their impact on a community’s physical activity.