Litter Caterpillars

  • Chicago Environmental Issues: A Guide to Fixing Our City

    Chicago Environmental Issues: A Guide to Fixing Our City

    A few years ago, I stared at a jar of blueberry jam in my fridge and couldn't throw it away. Then I walked outside, saw trash stuck in a gutter after rain, and felt the same paralysis. Your Mess Is The City's Mess My room used to look like a stalled negotiation between who I…

  • Your Guide to 2026 Chicago Community Events

    Your Guide to 2026 Chicago Community Events

    I remember moving to Chicago and feeling lonely in a way that surprised me. I could ride the train with a hundred people, walk past a street festival, grab food on a packed block, and still feel like I was watching someone else's city. The place was huge. I was tiny inside it. Then I…

  • DuPage River Greenway Trail: Your Guide to Adventure

    DuPage River Greenway Trail: Your Guide to Adventure

    I stepped onto the dupage river greenway trail on a cold March morning with fingers already going numb. A paper cup rattled in the reeds beside the path, and by the time I reached the next bend, I understood that this trail asks for more from you than a casual stroll. Finding Your Way by…

  • 7 Volunteer Opportunities for 17 Year Olds

    7 Volunteer Opportunities for 17 Year Olds

    When I was 17, I felt like my life was a messy room I couldn't clean. Every choice felt huge, and finding friends who cared about the same things I did seemed impossible. I just wanted to do something real. It turned out that cleaning up someone else's mess was way easier than cleaning up…

  • Where Can I Recycle? 10 Places for Almost Everything

    Where Can I Recycle? 10 Places for Almost Everything

    That bag in the corner can feel heavier than furniture. I know, because I've stared at a dead phone, a bag of tangled cords, and a mystery jar from the back of the fridge like they were emotional landmines. I started cleaning up streets with Litter Caterpillars before I got good at cleaning up my…

  • 10 Volunteer Recruitment Strategies for Your Group

    10 Volunteer Recruitment Strategies for Your Group

    The first cleanup I ever organized felt half noble, half ridiculous. Three of us showed up in Chicago, a spring hailstorm rolled through, every Uber canceled, and we ended up huddled under a tree with trash bags in our hands, cold enough to question our judgment. Two things happened that morning. We picked up a…

  • Palos Trail System: A Guide to Your Wild Chicago Escape

    Palos Trail System: A Guide to Your Wild Chicago Escape

    I first hit the Palos Trail System on a day when my brain felt like Lower Wacker at rush hour. I parked, stepped into the trees, and within ten minutes my shoes were dirty, my lungs were awake, and the city noise in my head had finally shut up. Finding the Wild Just Outside the…

  • Schaumburg Food Bank: Get Help & Volunteer

    Schaumburg Food Bank: Get Help & Volunteer

    A few years ago, I stared at a rotten jar in my fridge like it was a boulder. It barely weighed anything, but I couldn't move it. That same feeling shows up when you need help with food and don't know where to begin. That First Brave Step Towards Getting Help I started doing service…

  • Canoeing Illinois River: Plan Your 2026 Trip

    Canoeing Illinois River: Plan Your 2026 Trip

    The first time I planned a canoe trip on the Illinois River, my apartment looked like a stalled garage sale. Dirty mugs. Half-packed bags. A chair buried under clothes. I remember tracing a route on my phone and feeling, for the first time in weeks, like one small part of my life could move forward.…

  • Your Guide to the Fox River Valley: Adventure & Action

    Your Guide to the Fox River Valley: Adventure & Action

    I bent down to grab a soaked fast-food cup near the river on a cold morning, and my fingers went numb before I filled half a bag. That was the moment the fox river valley stopped being a pretty backdrop to me and became a place where I had a job to do. Many visitors…

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