Six state parks in Alachua County are offering free admission today in honor of International Literacy Day.
Park admission fees will be waived for guests who bring a library book or valid library card or donate a new or used family-friendly book today, according to a Florida Park Service press release.
The only park not participating is Skyway Fishing Pier State Park.
Alachua County is home to the six participating state parks: Paynes Prairie, Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park, Dudley Farm, Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park and San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park.
“International Literacy Day was established by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) back in 1965,” said Erin Phemester, youth services manager at the Alachua County Library District.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization established International Literacy Day 49 years ago, Phemester said.
The Florida Park Service will also host about 15 outdoor activities throughout the state spotlighting this year’s theme, Literacy and Sustainable Development.
About 11 percent of Alachua County adults lack basic literacy skills, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Though literacy rates are rising globally, the United Nations estimates about one-fifth of the world’s adult population cannot read or write.
JoAnna Platzer, a 21-year-old UF zoology and classics senior, said the incentive is not only to go to state parks but also to promote literacy as “beneficial to our state.”
“Florida has such a great variety of quality state parks. Floridians can really benefit from spending more time discovering the wonders of books,” Platzer said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/8/2014 under the headline "State parks offer free admission for Literacy Day today"]
