EDMONTON — During a time where community interactions have been limited, a family of ducklings who fell through a storm drain brought Brookview neighbours together to accomplish the feat.

Bobbi Stobbart, a Brookview resident, came home Sunday evening to an anxious mother duck on her lawn while her ducklings cried out for help.

Stobbart contacted Wildnorth, a non-profit organization in Edmonton dedicated to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. Two volunteers from the organization, Paige and Taylor, arrived instantly and began working with the neighbors to start the rescue.

“I said not to worry, our neighbors are wonderful and I am sure we can put something together – and indeed we did. People brought nets and we started the rescue,” said Stobbart.

The volunteers used their skills alongside concerned neighbors and curious children. The rescue took approximately two hours before the ducklings made their way from the pipes to the opening of the drain. The first duckling rescued called out for his brothers and sisters making the journey a little easier.

The crew was able to reunite a total of four ducklings out of seven, where the family was safely escorted back to the river valley.

For Stobbart, the act displayed a sense of kindness.

“I had a heartfelt sense about the community. Here it is, we are all in our moment of vulnerability and it seems like there is no end to what is going on with COVID. Here is this little microcosm, this little event that brought our neighbors together,” she said.