A special area designed to be used by children and adults for reading has opened in Croxteth Park.
The Reading Space is the first of five which it is hoped will be developed in parks across the city, using the natural environment to encourage children and adults to read outdoors.
It has been designed by students at Myerscough College, with seating made from tree trunks and is split into a number of distinct areas – the Den, the Lawn, the Field, the Circle and the Nook.
The initiative is part of the City of Readers campaign, which aims to make Liverpool the foremost reading city in the country.
Pupils from a number of local primary schools – Wellesbourne, Emmaus and Our Lady and St Swithin’s were the first to use it on Friday 9 May for a special reading lunch, dubbed a ‘booknic’.
Councillor Lana Orr, Mayoral Lead for Reading, said: “We are fortunate enough to be blessed with fantastic parks in Liverpool, and this is a simple and effective way of encouraging old and young alike to use our open spaces for reading.
“This is a really great scheme which we hope will get enable people to come together in a park to share their love of literature.
“Reading is a lifelong habit and through the City of Readers campaign we hope to encourage it at an early age and get children and parents reading together.”
A special reading kit has been devised which will be loaned to schools. It includes lanterns and other props to help bring literature to life, as well as a guide to reading outdoors and a journal to record and celebrate activities.
Students from Myerscough College have also launched a lunchtime book club and will be using the space as well.
For more information about City of Readers, visit http://www.cityofreaders.org/
