It has been said that one person’s trash is another one’s treasure; however, sometimes trash is just what it is. In 2017, Dr. Susan Baur, a 77-year-old avid swimmer, decided she had enough of the trash at the bottom of ponds throughout Cape Cod, Massachusetts. To combat the waste, the retired psychologist co-founded a group called “Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage,” or “OLAUG.”
The small team of swimmers, ages 64 to 85, has collected items from some of the nearly 900 freshwater ponds on the Cape. To become an OLAUG member, women interested must be at least 64 and pass a swim test to demonstrate their swimming ability: swim half a mile in about half an hour and dive a minimum of eight feet.
“You don’t expect women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s to be diving underwater picking up garbage, but older women are at that age of gratitude where they want to preserve what’s beautiful,” Baur told AARP.
“On a typical dive, we find golf balls, beer cans, dog toys; then we find what blows off docks — sunglasses, occasional cellphones,” she continued. “And then there’s the really interesting stuff — garden gnomes, tires, a toilet … the toilet wines. The dives are like treasure hunts for things that shouldn’t be there.”
Safeguarding the environment is OLAUG’s primary objective. Baur has been interested in waterway ecosystems throughout Cape Cod and has been a big advocate for the health and safety of many turtles that live in these waters. She’s even called “The Turtle Lady” on the island, having written several children’s books on the subject matter.
“We have cleaned up ponds anywhere from, say, 20 acres to 500 acres,” Baur told AARP. “The big ones we take piece by piece, and the small ones we try and do in one shot.”
To clean ponds, OLAUG members embark on underwater missions in pairs with a kayaker who is the “garbage collector.” One swimmer goes ahead looking for sea life and guides the others around them.
Photo Courtesy Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage
“There’s not one woman who’s thinking about what she’s making for dinner that night,” Baur told The Boston Globe. “You are totally out of your own head, immersed in the experience.’’
Baur received a climate resiliency hero award from the American Red Cross of Massachusetts at the Boston Heroes Breakfast in April 2024 for her work with OLAUG. In August 2024, the organization also received a special recognition award from the Association to Preserve Cape Cod.
People can send tax-deductible donations to OLAUG to help keep the group afloat. The funds help to buy safety equipment, wetsuits, and educational materials. Community members are also encouraged to contact the group if they know a pond needs attention.“When you dive for garbage, you are not only just immersed in the water, you’re immersed in the experience,” Baur told WCAI. “This changes a person. It’s a challenge. We ignite a kind of chain reaction of admiration and respect and helpfulness and hope, and it becomes a love fest.”
