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The Long Beach Duck Patrol Launched
By Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske | November 10, 2008
More than 25 boys and girls showed up today at the duck pond in El Dorado Park near Willow and Studebaker this afternoon to launch The Long Beach Duck Patrol.
These kids are members of Cub Scouts and Campfire USA and have taken on the task of educating the public why it is important not to feed the ducks at our ponds.
The Long Beach Duck Patrol — equipped with ID badges and t-shirts and hand made buttons — is the brain child of the members of the 5th District Task Force on Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands. Two adult members — Chris Beck and Pat Towner — took the lead and worked with the kids.
What developed was a science demonstration that showed that if you put bread in a bag with some gravel (which is what the duck’s stomach/crop is like) and shake it up it becomes a ball of bread that can get stuck and kill the bird. The kids also are sponsoring a coloring contest to pick the best sign that tells the public why it is important not to feed the ducks.
The kids walked around the pond today and talked with a dozen or so families that were there to feed the ducks –even though there are prominent signs in place that tell people not to feed them. Most were receptive to their message. A few were not and were very rude calling the kids “silly.” But they took it in stride and moved on to the next people around the pond.
To help kids get the message out, my office is publishing The Long Beach Duck Patrol Activity book which has a series of activites to teach people why they should let the ducks feed on natural things likes bugs, grass and mollusks.
It was a good day for showing what citizen involvement — no matter what the age — is important to improving the quality of life in our community.
P.S. Feeding ducks human good also deprives the ducks of the nutrients they need. It encourages aggressive behavior in the ducks who seek out the human give aways. The excess bread, chips, pretzels, peanuts, chicken mcnuggets, doritos and other junk food that is literally dumped into the pond, decays and helps grow bacteria which in turn chokes off the oxygen in the pond and kills the water quality — not to mention increases the amount of fecal matter which adds to the high levels of bacteria. Yuck!
This will be a long process of changing behavior. But it is a good step.
Topics: City Council, Parks, Lakes and ponds, Youth, Duck Patrol |
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