A field trip for people and ducks at the Japanese Gardens | News

A group of 3rd grade students weren’t the only ones on a field trip to the Japanese Garden. A mother and her ducklings paraded the Manito Park waters, casting shadows on the swimming Koi.

The children with District #81’s Tessera program gasped at the sight of the giant fish, but then they saw the baby ducks swimming around the pond. They shrieked.

At one point, a baby duck dived into the water, chasing a little fish and another duck jumped from the grassy island on top of a swimming Koi in the water. Some kids decided that duck’s name was Timmy the Third.

Wildlife watching wasn’t the only activity. Each student had to find a quiet place to write a haiku. Here's what Tanner wrote:

Nice and quiet pond.

Koi fish swimming back and forth.

Baby ducklings nice.

Program instructor, Liz Ulmen, says this is their culminating field trip after studying Asian culture. They spent their morning comparing the symmetry differenes between Duncan Gardens and the Japanese Gardens.