At Voyageur Park, one family is leading by example

It started with a piece of glass

Chelsea Bishop was walking with her son, Prince, at Voyageur Park. Prince, who is autistic, had darted toward the playground, drawn to something glinting in the grass. Chelsea wasn’t far behind when she saw what he was reaching for.

It was a jagged shard of glass. And he almost put it in his mouth.

“I panicked,” she said. “If I had turned my head for five seconds, he could have swallowed it. It was terrifying.”

From panic to purpose

That moment changed how Chelsea saw the park and what she did with her time there.

She began picking up trash—glass near the water, metal scraps along the shore, old fishing line tangled in the brush.

“Just yesterday, I picked up three loads,” she said.

A young boy and woman using grabbers to collect trash in a park, standing near a tree with a bright pink basket. They are surrounded by green grass and dandelions under a blue sky with spring leaves overhead.

A new name, a new mission

What started as a simple habit became something bigger. Chelsea and her family now call it Project Pickup.

“It’s not just about Prince,” said her older son, Malcolm. “I wanted to help other kids too. Make sure they don’t get hurt.”

Malcolm was the one who first called it a program.

“If she’s here every day,” he said, “why not build something that makes the park more safe?”

A green and blue logo showing a recycling bin, a tree, and silhouettes of a woman and child holding hands. The words “Project Pick-Up” appear in a stylized font below.

Chalk arrows and quiet leadership

They created a chalk-style logo, put up signs, and started leaving free chalk for kids and families. Along the paved paths, they draw arrows showing people where to find nearby trash bins. It’s a small gesture, but it’s already changing habits.

“People have started calling me ‘Mom’,” Chelsea laughed. “I yell at the fishermen to pick up their trash, and someone shouted back, ‘Okay, Mom!’”

“It starts with us, but it won’t end with us.”

Chalk writing on a sidewalk with arrows pointing toward trash cans. The message reads “Garbage cans here… in case you forgot!!! Pick up your trash :)” with a smiley face underneath.

The glass beach

Their favorite spot is a stretch of shoreline they call “our beach.” It’s not for swimming, but for skipping rocks, soaking in the sun, and just being present.

“There’s so much over there,” Chelsea said. “We’ve found statues, giant metal poles, even big ball bearings. A lot washes up.”

A boy in a black Reebok sweatshirt walks along a sandy shoreline holding a piece of litter. He is surrounded by driftwood and debris with a small pile of collected trash near a backpack. The Fox River and a distant bridge are visible in the background.

A watershed connection

Voyageur Park sits along the Fox River, which is part of the larger Fox-Wolf watershed—a region protected and cared for by the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance. Trash left on the ground doesn’t stay there. When it rains, stormwater carries it through drains and into the water.

What this family is doing goes beyond keeping the park clean. It’s about protecting the water too.

Why it matters

“We love being in the water,” Chelsea said. “It would be really nice if it was clean enough to actually go in. Without worrying you’ll get sick. Or hurt.”

Thanks to their efforts through Project Pickup, Malcolm has been named a Junior Ranger through the Jeff Corwin program. It’s a recognition that brought the whole family pride.

The goal is simple

“To encourage other parents to clean up with their children.”

That spirit is what makes Project Pickup feel different. It didn’t come from a campaign or a cleanup schedule. It came from care, followed by a choice to show up—day after day—with purpose and heart.

As Malcolm said,
“No one else seemed to be doing it. So we are.”