By Liz Sheehan
Fourth graders are invited by the National Park Service to get outside and discover the nation’s most treasured places by obtaining a free annual pass to more than 2,000 federal recreational areas and national parks this summer.
Locally, Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook does not charge an entry fee, so NPS will offer free parking through Labor Day, according to Gateway National Recreation Area spokeswoman Daphne Yun. (In all other parks, the free passes expire Aug. 31.) A season car pass to Sandy Hook is valued at $75.
The offer is part of the White House’s “Every Kid in a Park” program, marking the centennial of the National Park Service. Kids are directed to visit EveryKidInaPark.gov to complete an activity to earn free entry for their families to national parks and other public lands and waters across the country. The fourth graders can obtain the passes up to Aug. 31, said Yun.
Passes must be printed on paper (you can’t flash your smartphone) and are non-transferable. Additional rules for are posted on the website. Current third graders can get their fourth-grade passes in September, 2016.
The program’s goal is “to connect fourth graders with the great outdoors and inspire them to become future environmental stewards, ready to preserve and protect national parks and other public lands for years to come,” according to the National Park Service. The mission is to help everyone to “find your park.”
According to the website, the nationwide program was initiated by President Obama and is supported by the NPS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Education, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
