Bravery & Kindness
CATERPILLAR PARK
6316 and 6318 S. Sangamon St., Chicago, IL 60621
Litter Caterpillars set to open new park in Englewood by April 2026
Photo taken by Aaron Kruse
Our Story
The Litter Caterpillars are building a park set to officially open April 12, 2026 in Englewood. The fittingly named Caterpillar Park will be located at 6316 and 6318 South Sangamon Street.
After a year of building Caterpillar Park from the ground up, we are eager to announce its grand opening. Although, the park is technically open to the public currently.
Founders of the park purchased the land through an auction in April 2025 and have been laying the groundwork since. So far, we have already bought lights, solar panels and custom fixtures. We have also looked into some native plants we plan to grow and are finalizing other features we want the park to have.
We see this project as a consistent development. We will continue to speak with the residents of Englewood, asking them what they want to see and what would be useful in their neighborhood. With Caterpillar Park, the Litter Caterpillars want to bring together the Chicago community and create another beautiful and safe third space.
In hopes of having a healing effect within nature, we want the park to be a destination for everyone in Chicago to visit, furthering people’s exploration into the city’s many neighborhoods.
For us, this project was rather spontaneous. Our decision to build the park was heavily driven by the potential for learning and acquiring a completely new experience. Each organizer has their own personal reason for involvement from giving back to the community to personal growth.
The Name:
Caterpillar Park
Mirroring our motives for building the park, the park’s name Caterpillar Park is also symbolic of evolving, growing and treating everyday as a new opportunity to develop and thrive.
Funding
Currently, the makings of the park are funded by our organizers. However, we hope to bring in more funding with the revenue we earn by posting Sunday morning clean ups on the event app Pie.
Meet Our Founders
The hard-working team behind Caterpillar Park
Kevin Tao, Founder of the Litter Caterpillars
Kevin Tao was initially inspired to build a park when asking a group of friends, “What would you do if you owned a piece of land?” Beyond curiosity and providing the Chicago community with a beautiful and reflective space, Tao sees building Caterpillar Park as a learning opportunity, especially when it comes to practicing autonomy.
With his past experiences with disempowerment, Tao desires to regain any personal strength he feels he had lost. He wants this project to evoke a sense of purpose within others, and to an extent, promote a level of heroism.
“We have to create our own purposes, so we’re doing that,” Tao said. “[We’re] finding more purpose in a rather modern world that doesn’t seem to have much.”
Tao’s desires to better the world, beautify it and help others are heavily influenced by his great grandfather Tao Shu Zeng, who saved millions of lives in China during a great flood. Tao, keeping in mind his great grandfather’s legacy, wants to inspire others to make the world a better and more accepting place.
Despite Chicago being vastly diverse, Tao believes that the city still feels segregated, especially with certain negative notions some Chicagoans have with the city’s south and west side. He hopes that Caterpillar Park will draw people from all over Chicago, and even the country, with its beauty and help to encourage greater unity.
Krist Pregracke, Organizer
Krist Pregacke became involved in building Caterpillar Park with the interest of gaining experience in creating something not only beautiful and communal, but also something that is everlasting. He hopes to further engage with the community and build Caterpillar Park with what would be useful for residents nearby and Chicagoans overall.
Pregacke was a major driver in the idea of building the park after having a conversation with Litter Caterpillar founder Kevin Tao about what they would do if they owned a piece of land. He saw this as a fun project to get others involved in, reaching out to those that have since become founders of Caterpillar Park.
With a dream of creating affordable housing, Pregacke thought this park project was an approachable step in learning how to acquire land, work with the city of Chicago and build something from the ground up. For the park and himself, he’s been working on obtaining his masonry and concrete licenses to create more permanent features, such as brick walls covered in ivy.
“I want to build structures that when people look at them, they go, ‘Oh wow, someone put a lot of care into that,” Pregacke said.
Pregacke is very passionate about the beautification aspect of the park as well, turning an empty lot into a nature-filled space for the already charming neighborhood.
David Bippes, Organizer
David Bippes decided to be part of the Caterpillar Park project with the desire to accomplish several things he wishes to do with his life– giving back to the community and being a caring landowner. As these are his consistent goals, Bippes views building the park as a small way to get started in his endeavors alongside his studies in urban planning and policy.
Bippes hopes that the park will bring together Chicagoans from all different neighborhoods and overall, make the city an even better place. He appreciates being able to see the effort that others have put into the same goals, which further pushes him to stay part of that movement of work.
“The park was, to me, an extension of the spirit of the Litter Caterpillars– the idea of traveling around Chicago and doing small but helpful things to make Chicago a better place,” Bippes said.
He believes that it’ll be very rewarding to eventually see others enjoy Caterpillar Park as a new green space in a neighborhood that hasn’t had that type of space before.
Michael Lane, Organizer
Michael Lane was motivated to join the project of building Caterpillar Park with the desire to be part of something greater. As a child, he was heavily involved with volunteering and assisting communities around him through his time in Boy Scouts. Nowadays, he values the beautification of neighborhoods, and hopes that building Caterpillar Park recaptures the feeling of doing good and giving back to the community.
Despite the process being rather stressful, Lane has found consistent inspiration by those he’s surrounded by in the project. He hopes that the park, with its promise and beauty, will be long lasting and appreciated by visitors.
“I also hope that 50 years from now, our little patch of grassland will still be there and be a part of the area’s history, even if it’s just a very small part of the greater history of Chicago,” Lane said.
In all, Lane wants Caterpillar Park to be a maintainable and approachable space where people can stop by, rest and enjoy the beauty of the flora. Looking towards the future, he aspires to include other features to better serve the community.
Founder photos taken by Samantha Ho
Location
We encourage the community to visit the park, get inspired and join our efforts in bettering the environment by tidying up Chicago’s streets.