Inspiring Stories: Susan Baur, 85, Saves Turtles from Underwater Garbage

Before Susan Baur, 85, founded Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG), she was an author of oceanography books turned psychologist. Years of solo evening swims in Cape Cod’s ponds made her a fan of the local turtles; she decided to help them by clearing out pond debris during her underwater dives. She started OLAUG and unintentionally gained national media attention and inspired countless individuals to find their own path to communing with nature. 

OLAUG currently consists of 28 members. They clean around 20 ponds per year and collect 100s of pounds of garbage. The only payment they ask for in return is hot drinks and cookies. Senior Planet talked to Susan about her movement and its rewards:  

What inspired you to start Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage? 

My first impression of the ponds in Cape Cod was that they were horrible to swim in – they were muddy, dark and full of water lilies where anything could be hiding – specifically 50-pound snapping turtles. But over the course of about 18 years, as I swam alone in the evening in these ponds – I came to just love the turtles. I came to recognize them. I realized they were individuals who didn’t all act the same or look the same. 

I knew was that I was a nicer person when I was underwater swimming with these turtles. I liked myself better and I liked the world better and I liked the future better. Or you could say I was obsessed and enchanted!

So I went to different towns trying to get people to put up signs to protect the ponds and leave them for the turtles. That didn’t work. I tried teaching. I tried lecturing. I tried building low-cost underwater housing for turtles and not telling anyone about it. I tried a whole bunch of things, and it was failure, failure, failure.  

What stuck in my mind was that it was so wonderful to be with turtles.

One day in 2018, I thought, “What the heck, at least I can pick up the pond. If I see spent fireworks, I can do that.” So I got two people together and we cleaned up a pond. And that was sort of the beginning of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage. But what really stuck in my mind was not, “Oh boy, let’s expand this,”

What stuck in my mind was that it was so wonderful to be with turtles. It was so wonderful to feel like I was in step with the planet. It was the coolest thing someone could do. I wanted to know how to get back to that moment – call it an epiphany, call it wonderstruck, call it what you want, but there are these moments where you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be, doing exactly what you’re supposed to do – and well.  

I didn’t know what I was starting. I thought we were just cleaning ponds – and then the media attention began. I realized, they want what we got. OLAUG is a unique environmental service in that we are motivated by joy. We are motivated by the revitalization that each of us experience.  

It sounds like you achieve a form of “flow state.” 

Exactly! I put these 28 women in a situation where they have to get out of their heads. You have to be so focused when you are 10 feet underwater, trying to get a tire out of the mud, that you don’t think of yourself. How often do you get out of your own head?  

What technology are you using to organize OLAUG? 

Nothing much in the mission – masks, snorkels, kayaks. But it’s very important that we keep in touch with each other. To do so we have group emails – but try to keep them as few as possible. 

The greatest underutilized power in the United States is women over 65.

Why do you think this work is taking off with other older adults? 

The greatest underutilized power in the United States is women over 65. The zest, the gratitude. Look around the world! When grandmothers get against something, watch out! Because we have nothing to lose.  

Every woman over 65 has lost a lot. If she had children, they’ve gone away, they’ve made mistakes, husbands have started dying, breasts are being surgically removed, knees have been replaced. So to see a bunch of women who say, “yeah, this may be our last act but it’s more fun, more useful and more wonderful in many ways than any chapter we’ve had in our life”… It’s hot stuff.  

Any advice for someone who wants to start an environmental service group? 

What you really want is to get in the flow. You want to find that experience that makes you lose yourself. It has to be something very hard that takes absolutely everything you’ve got.  

Awe is a hot topic of study right now – but awe is unbiddable.  So, when you stumble on a moment of perfection, grab a whole bunch of people and pull them in. You stick your finger in the socket of the planet – whether that’s through art, music, nature, other people – and then you go. 

What does aging with attitude mean to you? 

Old ladies against underwater garbage! It means I will try anything I want. 

Photo Credits: Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage.

Pam Hugi is Senior Planet’s Community and Advocacy Manager. Based in Brooklyn, she is a contributing writer for this site.