August 27, 2026: Garbage hates to see these silver-haired baddies coming! For almost a decade, the ladies of the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG) have fought pollution in Cape Cod, and are winning.
OLAUG is a Cape Cod-based nonprofit founded in 2017 by retired psychologist Susan Baur. A cozy organization, it consists of about 30 women between the ages of 64 and 85. These aren’t your grandmother’s… grandmothers. These ladies are doing more than picking up litter on the sidewalk. They’re not (only) baking cookies. They’re gearing up in wet suits and free-diving in the waters of Cape Cod.
These expeditions have a direct purpose: remove debris from local freshwater ponds. Somebody’s auntie or Gam-Gam has been hard at work, making the world a cleaner place one piece of soggy garbage at a time. Since its inception, OLAUG has removed nearly 6,000 pounds of waste.
Baur was a granny on a mission. She became personally invested in the ponds of Cape Cod in her early 60s, noting that the open waters of the Atlantic were a little too dangerous for her to enjoy swimming. She noticed a disturbing pattern of increased visitor traffic doing more than bolstering the local economy. The elevated human presence notably began to damage the habitats of native snapping turtles.
But Baur did more than lament the environmental breakdown. She put her money were her heart is and in 2017, organized a cleanup effort with a few friends. Thus the birth of the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage.
The name’s origins speak not only to Baur’s consternation, but her determination to do something about it. More visitors began to leave their mark at her favorite turtle pond. Nothing she did to help prevent the destruction seemed effective. She tried making signs, even crafted homemade “turtle housing,” all to no avail.
In 2017, a frustrated Baur headed down to her favorite pond and flagged a man in a yellow kayak. The two of them as a well as a couple friends, took it upon themselves to dredge up loads of golf balls, cans, and bottles left by inconsiderate tourists to the area. Someone in the group quipped about them being “a bunch of old ladies against underwater garbage.”
The rest, as they say…
An Age of Gratitude
Baur, now 85, understood that this was an opportunity to not only do some very real good for the surrounding environment. This communal gathering of elderly women provided a much-needed layer of catharsis for those who, in this season of their lives, have gone through so much, including heavy loss.
“By the time a woman is in her late 60s, she has experienced loss, Baur said. “People in our group have lost breasts, homes, husbands, and wealth. They are in the age of gratitude.”
Their gratitude pours over into the community with their efforts. Of course, as time moves on, more members will need to join the ranks. Membership, however, isn’t a simple photo ID and proof of age. There are some pretty strict protocols, understandable considering regardless of its outward appearance, these are ladies taking on a grueling task.
Those interested are required to be female, at least 64 years old, and capable of passing a swim test that includes swimming half a mile in under 30 minutes and free-diving to a depth of eight feet.
Structured protocols are necessary to ensure the safety of the women and the surrounding flora and fauna. Before each dive, members scout for locations, taking the extra step to coordinate with local pond coalitions. This last consideration is vital to everyone’s safety. It ensures the water quality is tested for harmful blue-green algae and toxins associated with the blooms.
Every member of a girl group must have their role, of course. The leader of this renegade group of grannies is crowned the “beach boss.” She’s in charge of managing logistics and safety checks. Just as with the Spice Girls, boys are always welcome. But their roles are restricted to activities outside of the water. According to Baur, they’re “too competitive.” Healing the planet isn’t a competitive sport, after all.
Members use kayaks and free-dive to collect various forms of debris: golf balls, cans, bottles, car batteries, fireworks waste, etc. The operational season runs from May through early October, during which the group cleans approximately 20 ponds.
Even more incredible is the compensation. Well, technically there is no real “compensation,” as such. The nonprofit will, however, accept cookies and hot chocolate from the local coalitions.
OLAUG’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Baur’s so-called “retirement project” has garnered her a Climate Resilience Hero Award from the American Red Cross of Massachusetts. She was named to the 2025 class of the Explorers Club 50 (which honors people changing the world). The organization was also recognized at the 10th Annual Shorty Impact Awards, winning the Gold Honor in Conservation & Preservation.
“We wade out of the water wetter, kinder, happier, and more empowered women,” Baur proclaimed. “It’s the Zen of trash picking.”
The Bright Side
You’re never too old to make an impact. What the ladies of OLAUG have realized is this is more than just a means to make a difference. These women found comradery through a common goal of giving the local environment a clean makeover, and in the end the cause acted as a personal “cure,” of sorts.
“It’s just the best thing in the world, it really is,” Susan Dropo, a member from Sandwich, Mass., said. “[OLAUG is] what we all didn’t know we needed, and every time we get together, it’s a blast.”
You can always be the Bright Side you want to see in the world. No matter how old your are or how blue your hair becomes.
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If you had fun with this story, meet read about a Sumner, Wash. local who decided for saving the day, pants are optional.
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