Winnipeg high school helps lead ducks that nested in courtyard to water

Mom and baby ducks wander through Winnipeg school A mother duck wanders through the halls of Westwood Collegiate so she can make the journey to Assiniboine River with her babies.

Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?

A Mallard duck was spotted in an empty compost bin in the school’s courtyard around Mother’s Day, according to school principal Kevin Dueck.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time a duck has nested here,” Dueck said.

The school soon found out that the duck was nesting in the area. On the evening of May 26, they learned the eggs had hatched, with 12 ducklings born.

Dueck and Leslie Eyjolfson, who is the head of the school’s science department, reached out to Ducks Unlimited Canada and the province to find out how to allow the ducks to move through the school and to a body of water. They were told once the ducks began moving, which took place a few days later, they needed to ensure they were out of the area in 24 hours.

Eyjolfson created a path in the school Tuesday, blocking off parts of the hallways, to allow the mother duck and her ducklings a safe passage from their nest to the outside of the school. She said the students were excited to see the ducks pass through the school.

The school said they saw the ducks heading west towards water.

Dueck and Eyjolfson are both hoping the duck, which has been nicknamed Quackers, will come back to the school.