fitness · swimming

Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage

Diane Harper

Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage is a group I would like to join. Sadly, the group works in Cape Cod, so I can’t actually join, but how awesome is their mission statement from their website?

In 2017, Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, OLAUG, was formed. We have been cleaning up ponds on Cape Cod from Falmouth to Chatham ever since. Gathering small teams of swimmers, ages 65 to 85, we sweep along the shallows, diving down to pick up beer cans, golf balls, fishing lures, waterlogged dog toys, hats, jackets, shoes, and occasionally a tire, cell phone or box of spent fireworks.

Whatever we heave up from the bottom, we hand to the Garbage Collector who paddles a canoe or kayak. Our affection and respect for the fish, turtles, and plants that live in the ponds are what motivates us. Well, that and cookies.

Five women stand in thigh deep water holding a toilet they have pulled out of the water. They all have huge smiles and are obviously very pleased with their “catch”. Photo is from the OLAUG Facebook page.

I heard a couple of the members interviewed a few weeks ago and was impressed with the level of fitness required.

Swimmers, without fins, need to be:

  • able to swim ½ mile freestyle in 30 minutes or less
  • able to swim a mile
  • comfortable spending 1.5 hours in the water, with a lot of treading water
  • comfortable and proficient swimming with mask and snorkel
  • comfortable diving down 6-9 feet to retrieve trash.

Kayakers need to be able to:

  • maneuver easily without knocking into swimmers
  • keep your kayak steady while receiving sometimes heavy trash on one side from a swimmer
  • keep your kayak steady in windy conditions
  • keep track of swimmers and tell them if they are getting too far away
  • paddle while a tired or injured swimmer hangs onto the bow
  • right themself or get safely to shore should they capsize.

There are tryouts to ensure everyone can meet the standard.

I sometimes pick up underwater trash when I’m swimming, and I follow various organizations who clean up ocean plastics, or rescue animals snared in fishing gear or other materials, so I have an extra appreciation for the work these women are doing.

The organization is small but starting to grow in new locations. If someone were to open a chapter in the Ottawa area, I would love to join.

A line of women, most wearing red shirts, stands on a sandy beach in front of a collection of trash that probably came from the water in the background.

Published by Diane Harper

Diane Harper is a retired former public servant who lives and swims (and bikes) in Ottawa. In her hobby life, she is Siglinde Harfnerstochter, a 6th C Merovingian housewife from the city of Metz. Her primary interests are cooking, textile arts and bonecarving. Siglinde lives in the canton of Caldrithig, Barony of Skraeling Althing, Kingdom of Ealdormere.

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