Downtown has some new residents. Meet Neyland, Nigel, Nya and nine of their sneaky little friends: “Newts in Knoxville.”
It’s both a permanent public art installation and a scavenger hunt. Funded by Downtown Knoxville Alliance and fabricated by local metalworker Preston Farabow, the 12 life-sized bronze newts are hidden along Gay Street and throughout Market Square, Krutch Park and Strong Alley.
DKA Executive Director Michele Hummel credits the idea to a conversation with Natalea Cummings, general manager of Mast General Store. “She mentioned how successful ‘Mice on Main’ had been in Greenville, South Carolina,” Hummel said. “That really planted the seed.”
Former DKA marketing director Robin Thomas took the idea and ran with it. But Knoxville didn’t want to copy-paste someone else’s muse. The city needed its own creature, one that was small enough to hide in plain sight but significant enough to feel special.
DKA consulted Zoo Knoxville for advice. That’s when the newt crawled in.
Why Newts?
Tiny, elusive and often overlooked, newts are a type of salamander (other types include Hellbenders, axolotls and mudpuppies). To learn more about these creatures and their regional significance, I recently joined over 60 salamander enthusiasts for a public Zoom lecture through the University of Tennessee Arboretum: What Does It Mean to be the Salamander Capital of the World? The speaker was Ben Fitzpatrick, a professor in UT’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
“There are more different kinds of salamanders in this part of the world than anywhere else,” Fitzpatrick said. And it’s not just species diversity—it’s density, too. “There are forests in which salamander biomass dwarfs that of any other terrestrial vertebrate.”
To put that in perspective, an Appalachian forest the size of UT’s campus could support “almost 8 million of these little salamanders.” On misty nights in the mountains, Fitzpatrick has seen hundreds of them quietly moving through the forest floor.
Why here? “Salamander physiology is sort of fortuitously tuned to be very successful in this kind of ecosystem,” Fitzpatrick explained, referring to the cool, wet forests of the Smokies. “It’s not a great place to be a lizard or a snake who wants to sit in the sun all day. It’s not a great place to be a small mammal, with your fur wet all the time.”
Newts are fascinating. Fun fact: they produce tetrodotoxin, the same toxin as pufferfish. They are safe to handle, but if you ate a bunch of newts (please don’t) it could be dangerous.
While most salamanders stick to forests and mountains, some like the zigzag salamander have found ways to thrive in urban areas, especially where there’s the correct geological formation with limestone, tree cover and creeks. I’ll break the news to Fitzpatrick later that Knoxville now has a brand-new subspecies on its hands.
How It Works
The scavenger hunt officially launches during the First Friday ArtWalk on June 6. They’re crawling up walls, slinking along sidewalks and tucked into nooks and crannies, each one paired with a playful clue. Take Nate the Newt, who lives in an art-filled alleyway: “He loves to find paintings that speak to his heart. Hint: Nate has always looked up to artists—and still does.”
The hunt is designed for everyone: kids, families, tourists, date nights, friend groups, or just curious locals out for a walk. “You don’t need to know your way around downtown to enjoy it,” Hummel said. “But you might end up discovering places you didn’t know existed.”
The scavenger hunt is guided by a passport, available at the Visit Knoxville Visitors Center, Mast General Store or online at knoxnewts.com, that provides clues and hints to help locate the newt sculptures. “We wanted people to think a little, to engage their curiosity,” Hummel explained. “But we also spaced them out enough that you won’t go too far without finding one.”
Businesses are encouraged to create their own newt-themed merch, treats or promotions. “In Greenville, coffee shops have mouse-themed drinks year-round,” Hummel said. “We’d love to see something similar happen here.”
Tiny Creatures, Big Message
While the project is lighthearted and playful, it also carries a deeper message about the importance of biodiversity and how much there is to love about the natural world right under our noses.
Fitzpatrick noted that salamanders face serious threats both regionally and worldwide, from habitat destruction and climate change to pollution and disease. While large-scale change takes collective action, there are simple ways individuals can help: avoid lawn chemicals that might wash into waterways, choose organic produce when possible and use unscented or amphibian-safe products near streams and creeks.
If you’re lucky enough to spot a salamander in the wild, admire it with clean, wet hands—and gently return it to its hiding place.
Skip the rock stacking, too. “You might be moving someone’s special, special rock,” Fitzpatrick said. “You might be disturbing someone’s ability to reproduce in that stream.”
In short: look, don’t touch. Leave logs and rocks as you found them. Respect the messiness of the forest floor—it’s somebody’s home.
But if you’re downtown? No need to worry. The bronze newts don’t mind being pointed at, photographed or followed around with a scavenger hunt map. Learn more at Downtown Knoxville Alliance.