The very best grannies are wise, nurturing, and self-sacrificing women always willing to step in and clean up messes left by the young. This bunch, perhaps, carries those virtues to an extreme. The 65- to 85-year-old members of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG) routinely don wet suits to dive into the murky ponds of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. From the waters, they retrieve piles of trash. They’ve just about seen it all. They've pulled out beer bottles, golfballs, toilets, even the back end of a Corvette. “Some people may look at what we do and think it’s disgusting,” wrote OLAUG founder Susan Baur and comrade Lucinda Keith in an essay for Cape Cod Life. “But I think if you take a deeper dive into what our mission really is, I think we’ll win you over with our contagious sense of joy, humor and the feeling that comes from knowing we’re working together to protect nature.” The women wear masks and snorkels. They jump into the water from a pontoon boat. They then dive for garbage. The swimmers are followed by a kayaker. Aspiring members must show they can swim a half-mile in less than 30 minutes and repeatedly dive as deep as 10 feet. Baur says there’s a waiting list to join. The 30-member group holds as many as 20 underwater garbage dives in a month. It’s not entirely a thankless job. Local homeowners often show their thanks by showering the divers with gifts, such as baked goods. And the divers themselves say they get more out of the experience than the knowledge that they’re helping the environment. Baur, 85, told The Washington Post: “There’s nothing like cold water, icky garbage and a little bit of danger to get you out of your head.” Thought Question: What is something you or someone you know has done to help the environment or your community? Photo of members of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage from Instagram courtesy of @olaug_capecod.
