Addison Trail students hatch, raise ducklings to learn about animal behavior and sustainability

When walking into the Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level Environmental Science class at Addison Trail, five ducklings meet you at the door.

Those ducklings hatched on April 18 and are part of a new school-owned flock at Addison Trail to teach students about biology, as well as sustainability. Marlo Rivera, who teaches the course, said students are tracking the behaviors of the animals and evaluating the economics involved with raising them. Members of the Addison Trail Environmental Club will help with the project as well, and the Environmental Sustainability class will get involved next year. The babies are Khaki Campbell Ducks and are descendants of a domestic, genetically diverse line from a farm in Iowa. Rivera added the goal is to have the ducklings be sustainable and live on school grounds.

Addison Trail senior Christina Sanchez said she has enjoyed participating in the project.

“It has been an amazing experience to watch the cycle of life,” she said. “We also have learned a lot about what it takes to successfully raise a clutch.”