22 ducks released for their first swim

Hundreds of kids gathered at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home on Wednesday to say goodbye to some feathered friends.

Leading up to Hillcrest’s annual Duck Launch, children from schools all around Saskatoon raise ducks for a month. The birds are then released into the pond at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens for their first swim.

Funeral director Jamie Rugg explains the program brings many benefits to the children.

“They learn a lot about animal care, obviously,” she said.

Twelve-year-old Ella Heinrichs of Sherbrooke Intergenerational Classroom says she’s learned quite a bit.

“They get big very, very fast,” she said.

Heinrichs and her classmate Kaitlynn Brophy were the primary caretakers for two ducks they named Quackers and Cheese.

Brophy said she enjoyed her time with the two ducks.

“I’m going to be sad because I watched them grow up a lot, and I’m going to miss them,” she said. “But I’ll come visit them.”

Rugg said this ties into another message the program helps kids learn.

“A little bit of a deeper, more subtle lesson would be the lesson of letting go,” she said.