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Navitat Adventure Course at Ijams Opens Friday 
Ijams Executive Director Paul James on Navitat adventure course: "Experience nature in a new way."

Ijams Executive Director Paul James says the Navitat treetop adventure course is an opportunity to "experience nature in a new way." 

Navitat Canopy Adventures officially opens its aerial course at Ijams Nature Center on Friday. But Mayor Madeline Rogero, Legacy Parks Foundation Executive Director Carol Evans and others were among the guests who tested out the course today, following a ribbon-cutting.

Navitat CEO Ken Stamps said he hopes the course will inspire people and instill in them a deeper love of the wonders of the natural world. The Navitat course at Ijams is believed to be the world's first in a nature center, Stamps said.

Mayor Rogero told Ijams supporters and outdoor recreation enthusiasts that Navitat's treetop adventure course is fun, but it's also a smart eco-tourism asset, strategically added at Ijams, in the heart of the 1,000-acre Urban Wilderness.

"Outdoor recreation wallops a serious economic punch," the Mayor said.

Families craving unique outdoor educational experiences are discovering Knoxville and passing the word. A recent Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy finds that the Urban Wilderness has an annual local economic impact of $14.7 million, with potential to multiply as its tourism draw increases.

Great to try out the course today - the Lily Pads feature, and then some ziplining!

Mayor Rogero ziplines at Navitat.



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Mayor Madeline Rogero tiptoes the Lily Pads part of Navitat.























Ijams guests get trained by Navitat staff on course maneuvers.




















Mayor Rogero gets her gear before practicing the Navitat course.




































Navitat "ribbon-cutting" was actually a "rope untying."
Posted by evreeland On 16 July, 2015 at 6:28 PM