Once a year, the Hartland Consolidated Schools district grades close it’s doors for everyone but a duck and her ducklings.
The mama duck, named Vanessa, has returned to the Village Elementary courtyard to lay her eggs for the past 13 years, and the school has formed a close bond with a duck.
Every year, Ruth Darrah, who is now a retired teacher, makes sure that the school welcomes Vanessa and her new ducklings with open doors. They put construction paper along the walls and blocks hallways to set a clear path from the courtyard, through the school and the outside pond.
Vanessa first flies into a closed-off courtyard and crawls under a specific shrub, digs out her nest, lays her eggs and waits until they are hatched. The children and teachers at the Village count down the days until her ducklings are hatched as well.
“We were afraid she wasn’t going to return this year, but she did,” Darrah said.
At around 4pm on April 28, Vanessa and her kids made their annual debut inside the school. After a decade, Vanessa knew to wait by the courtyard door for it to be unlocked and she waddled with her ducklings through the school within minutes.
“She has it down by now, after 13 years,” Darrah laughed.
The duck and the ducklings must walk through the school, and Village Principal William Cain says, “It’s the best thing you will ever witness.” Teachers and staff make sure the students are out of Vanessa’s path so they don’t frighten her.
“It’s so unusual, but everyone gets so invested in this duck because how cool is it that she comes back each and every year,” says Elizabeth Krause, a Village mom who has witnessed the momma duck’s appearance almost every year since her first hatching.
Krause told Livingstondaily.com,
“Ducks have a natural instinct for danger, so it’s funny that it just trusted that it would get out somehow,” Krause said. “I think that really speaks volumes of our community at Village and in Hartland. It shows that we are a safe and caring community.”
Watch this incredible video of Vanessa and her ducklings below and please SHARE it with your friends and family on Facebook!
[Featured Image Credit: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily]
This School Shuts Down Every Year So A Mama Duck Can Lead Her Ducklings To Safety is an article from: LifeDaily