ST. MARTIN PARISH — Two cousins are turning a personal mission into a statewide call to action. Dominick Chaillot and his cousin Alex founded Bayou Society, a nonprofit focused on cleaning up local waterways. What began as a personal habit has grown into a consistent and organized community effort — all powered by passion and trash bags.
“We would travel the state in our motorcycles and stop for breaks under bridges,” Dominick said. “Every time we would stop we were taken aback by how much trash there was.”
That realization led to the creation of the Bayou Society earlier this year. Since January, the Chaillots have spent weekends cleaning different stretches of bayou and riverbanks, often filling buckets and trailers with discarded waste. But the mission, they say, isn’t just about what they collect — it’s about what they hope to inspire.
“Our goals ongoing are to facilitate the clean-up efforts of hopefully other groups that choose to do this in their bayous or local waterways across the state,” Dominick said.
On a recent cleanup in Butte La Rose, the cousins moved along the shoreline pulling trash from the banks.
“We filled up a couple of buckets already and we’ve gotten most of the trash off of this area of the shoreline,” Alex said. “Just gonna keep walking it down and doing this over and over again.”
Their approach is simple: show up, lead by example, and let the work speak for itself.
“We’re getting out there to be the stewards of our local waterways and do everything that we can.” Dominick said.
Since starting the nonprofit, Alex says he’s discovered a passion he didn’t know he had.
“I didn’t know that passion could be manufactured the way that this is happening for me — like I didn't know I had an inherent passion for picking up trash, if that’s even the case, since getting in the water, getting on the boats, going out and picking the trash up — that stuff is gas for the fuel.”
Bayou Society isn’t working alone. The group regularly posts cleanup days and locations on Facebook, encouraging others to get involved. Their long-term vision includes supporting other groups with equipment, logistics, and shared knowledge.
“We would love to be that logistical support for your Boy Scout and your Girl Scout, your local church group, a paddling group — anybody that wants to get out and clean up trash, we wanna help,” Dominick said.
Their trailer, often packed full of debris after each trip, is a visual reminder of what’s possible when people take responsibility for their surroundings. They hope that others will feel that same spark.
“We can go out there on the bayou and come home with quite a catch every single day,” Dominick said. “So we’d like other people to develop that same passion and get out there with the same fervor.”
For more information or to get involved with Louisiana Bayou Society visit them on:
FACEBOOK- Louisiana Bayou Society
OR CONTACT THEM AT AT:
Louisianabayousociety@gmail.com
