Two small children at St. John Child Care admire their new friend. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Fowl education

Making some new ‘peeps’: duck launch program turns 25

May 14, 2025 | 5:00 PM

Visibly excited by the sight of some fluffy guests, five-year-old Wyatt Provost-Lidberg exclaims, “awwww.”

St. John Child Care was the first stop on Wednesday for the annual duck launch program run by Prince Albert Memorial Gardens, River Park Funeral Home, and Gray’s Funeral Chapel. For the next five weeks, a number of daycares and schools across the area will be responsible for looking after two ducks each.

“They are awesome,” Wyatt said as he stroked the small head of one small duckling that is only a day old.

One of the main goals of the program is to help the children learn how to care for a small animal, and this will involve feeding and cleaning the ducks, but also naming them. Popular names in the past have included Mario and Luigi, Cotton Candy, and Cheese and Quackers.

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“I’m gonna call this one baby,” Wyatt said proudly, adding Candy might also be a good name.

Also involved this year are Birch Hills School, West View School, Children’s Choice Day Care (three locations), Family Resources Centre at the Gateway Mall, Hope’s Home, P.A. Child Care, St Michael’s Child Care, King George Child Care and John Diefenbaker Child Care.

A young girl holds up her favourite duckling. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

The program is celebrating its 25th anniversary and Don Cody, who works as a pre-need specialist at the cemetery, has been helping to make the deliveries for 17 of those years. He noted the program helps show the kids that the cemetery doesn’t necessarily have to be a scary place. 


“We don’t call it a graveyard, as you used to call it, many years ago. We call it a cemetery, and in this particular instance, our park-like cemetery, which is quite a great atmosphere. So we want people to understand, and particularly the children, there’s nothing wrong with coming and visiting,” he said.

The day old ducklings arrived in a small blue tub and in five weeks will look a lot different. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

The annual duck launch will take place on June 19 at Memorial Gardens, and that’s when all the adult ducks will be set free at the pond. Cody acknowledged after all these years, he still enjoys seeing the kids put their ducks into the water.

“It’s quite fascinating when you look at those ducks, how they personally attach to these children. You know, they barely want to go into the water, and they come back right to the same kids.”

The event on June 19 is open to the public.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Blue Sky: @nigelmaxwell.bsky.social