Eco-friendly duck feeders installed in three Hull Parks are a 'quacking' success

A pioneering project to help protect ducks in Hull has been a roaring - or quacking - success.

The Feed Ducks Initiative, a scheme dedicated to a more sustainable way of feeding ducks in public places, has been embraced by parks all across the UK. East Park, Pearson Park and Pickering Park have all benefited from their unique solution - a solar-powered feeder to help stamp out bad feeding habits.

As well as significantly reducing negative feeding habits, they also help improve water quality, financially support local parks and improve duck health.

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The feeders help reduce bread feeding - which can be unhealthy for the animals - and overfeeding, leading to healthier ducks. They are entirely cash-free and contactless, with organisers saying that 10 per cent of all the sales will go back into the parks to support local community projects and help with their maintenance.

The feeders use healthy food for ducks such as grain. Organisers say that by reducing "foreign" feed which can rot, the feeders will not disrupt local ecosystems and attract vermin, all while reducing plastic waste. They are also made entirely of recycled plastic material - equivalent to 20,000 plastic bottles. Being solar-powered and entirely off-grid, the feeders are eco-friendly.

All three of the bird feeders required no funding from Hull City Council - something that the Initiative believe makes it an attractive option for local authorities.

Matthew Knight, founder of The Feed Ducks Initiative, said: "Our partnership with Place Informatics marks a significant milestone in our mission to promote sustainable duck feeding practices.

"We are so grateful for the team’s support and by utilising their visitor data, we can strategically expand our network of solar-powered dispensers, benefiting both the parks, the animals and local communities.”