Ijams Nature Preschool Expands with Land Donation, Growing Outdoor Learning in Knoxville

A generous donation from the East Tennessee Presbytery and New Prospect Presbyterian Church is opening a new chapter for early childhood education at Ijams Nature Center.

More than 15 acres of land at 4920 Prospect Road and a 6,500-square-foot church building have been donated to the nature center, creating space for the expansion of its small but highly sought-after preschool program. The gift, which was orchestrated in part by General Presbyter of the Presbytery of East Tennessee, Rev. Dr. Wendy Neff, is from the congregation at New Prospect Presbyterian Church. While the congregants are dispersing to other local congregations, their donation ensures the property and 150-year legacy there will continue serving the community while allowing Ijams to grow its play-based, outdoor early learning programs.

This expansion is part of a broader vision taking shape at Ijams. Under the leadership of CEO Amber Parker, the nature center is working toward a capital campaign to support long-term improvements and modernization across the campus. In the meantime, recent projects have focused on increasing accessibility, including the completed Universal Pond and continued work to create safer, more inclusive trails and pathways for visitors of all abilities. Along with the Nature Playscape that opened in late 2022, these efforts point to a clear and intentional path forward for the children and families Ijams serves year-round.

Amber shared with me, “This extraordinary gift from New Prospect Presbyterian Church is truly transformative for our community. It not only preserves a beautiful and meaningful space but also allows Ijams to expand access to nature-based education and experiences for generations to come. We are deeply grateful for this act of vision and generosity, which reflects a shared commitment to land stewardship, community connection, and the well-being of our region.

Curious about the donation, I asked Dr. Neff about the motivation for the congregation to donate the property rather than sell it once they had made the decision to combine their congregations with other presbyteries.

“Ijams mission ‘to encourage stewardship of the natural world by providing an urban greenspace for people to learn about and enjoy the outdoors through engaging experiences,’ and their vision of  ‘Through direct experience with the outdoors all people will appreciate and care for the natural world,’ though not religious, align with our values to care for creation and to create space for children and adults to experience the gift of nature. Several of the descendants of HP and Alice Ijams are members of our congregations. This gift affirms the family’s and the church’s enduring commitment to stewarding creation and preserving nature for future generations. Because Ijams will use the property to enhance their outdoor preschool program, the church’s legacy of commitment to education continues.”

For Leigh Feld, the director of Ijams Nature Preschool, the expansion represents an opportunity to offer more children an experience that families are increasingly seeking.

“We’re really excited at Ijams because obviously the gift that’s coming our way is going to allow us to expand what we have to offer,” Leigh said. “And also, to invite educators from around the country to come and see what we do and how we do it.”

Leigh has spent nearly two decades working in early childhood education, beginning as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher before transitioning into preschool education. “I started my career as a kindergarten, first-grade teacher,” she said. “When I went back to work after my youngest was ready for preschool, I went back and taught preschool. So since 2005 I’ve been working in early childhood.”

Her approach centers on play as the foundation of learning, a philosophy that fits naturally within Ijams’ outdoor setting. “I had always been very passionately committed to play-based learning,” Leigh said. “But to be able to layer that with outdoor nature-based learning just makes my soul soar.”

Children at the preschool spend large portions of their day outside exploring the woods, meadows, and trails that surround the nature center. “Our goal is always to spend at least 50% of our day outside. Play-based learning creates those foundational skills that children need to be successful academically,” Leigh said. “When you’re able to learn through play in the outdoors, it’s like supercharged.”

Leigh’s commitment to outdoor learning grew over years of watching how academic expectations shifted for young children, the onslaught of social media, and most recently the impact of the pandemic. “I saw what that life looked like for my boys and their peer groups,” she said. “What we were asking of five- and six-year-olds wasn’t developmentally appropriate.”

Nature, she believes, offers something many children need.  “For me, the answer is so incredibly clear,” Feld said. “It’s about being in nature.” Children learn through play, but children who learn from play in nature, repair the damage done through screens and the high-pressure learning environments we have put them in before they are developmentally ready. My (Heather) personal and professional background in child development had me nodding along to every point Leigh made like the church choir behind the minister on a Sunday morning.

While the preschool is the cornerstone of Ijams’ early learning efforts, it is part of a broader set of programs designed to engage children and families at different stages. Ijams Nature Preschool follows a traditional school-year calendar, with children attending from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and an optional extended day until 5:30 p.m. The program is intentionally structured to maximize time outdoors.

For families not ready for a full-time preschool commitment, Nature Play Club offers a part-time, drop-off option that mirrors the preschool’s approach in a shorter format. This type of program is more akin to the parents’ day-out opportunities offered by other organizations. “The intention with Play Club is that all of those three hours are done outdoors,” Leigh said.

For even younger children, Nature Nuggets provides a parent-and-child experience that introduces families to nature-based learning through guided hikes, sensory exploration, and open-ended play. (Think good ole “mommy and me” playdates.) The response has been overwhelming and is already making a difference. The program has also become a natural entry point for families discovering Ijams’ preschool offerings.

At Ijams, children explore what teachers call “forest rooms,” special outdoor areas that become familiar play and learning spaces. “We hike to those spaces every day,” she said. “They’re places that children and teachers sort of discover together.”

The donated property includes a church building constructed in 2007, which will be the program’s home base, along with open meadow and forested land that will serve as the preschool’s future outdoor campus.

“The building itself is 6,500 square feet,” Leigh said. “It’s a beautiful building. It’s just light-filled and lovely.” No major construction is needed for the program to move locations, and they plan to start as soon as possible on the small things needed to make the space their own.

The site’s two-acre meadow will be developed into outdoor play and learning areas, as well as more than ten acres of biodiverse forest. “There’s a hardwood forest, a cedar grove, there’s a fungi forest, there’s a moss forest, there’s a beautiful pond,” Leigh said. They hike with the students to these magical locations daily. And a fun bonus for children beginning the program in the Fall at the new location is that they get to name the new trails themselves.  Ijams conservation staff, led by Ben Nanny, is already making plans to prepare the forest by removing invasive species and creating simple trails for children to explore.

Currently, the preschool enrolls just 22 students, largely due to space limitations and the demand for the program far exceeds the available spots. “We’re just kind of held at 22 based on our internal space,” Feld said.

“I have families touring for the class entering in 2030,” she said. The move to the new campus will allow the preschool to expand gradually. The first year is expected to increase enrollment to about 35 students in 4 classrooms, with additional growth planned over several years.

Long term, the site could support as many as 90 students, though Leigh says that number will depend on what the land can sustainably handle. “90 pairs of feet every day on 10 acres. That’s a lot,” she said. “We have to make sure the land can sustain that.”

One of the most common questions she hears from parents touring the program is whether their children will be ready for kindergarten. Her answer is simple. “I can confidently say yes,” she said. “But that’s actually not our goal. Our goal is for your children to be ready for life.”

The preschool focuses on building curiosity, resilience, and a deep connection to the natural world through play and exploration. The new facility will open full-time for the August 2026-2027 school year. For Leigh, the expansion means more children will have the opportunity to experience that approach.

“In my heart, I want 9,000 kids to have access to this,” she said.