A Legacy of Litter

Diving into ponds across Cape Cod, these inspiring women band together to remove trash and protect wildlife—with humor and heart.

By Susan Baur and Lucinda Keith

Some people may look at what we do and think it’s disgusting, and at first glance at the piles we’ve collected, who could blame them? 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.

Originally, my mission was to make the habitat safer for my favorite creature—the turtle.

Despite my aversion to slogging through pond muck and my fear of enormous snapping turtles, my love for these animals pushed me into a series of efforts aimed at preserving their homes. The nearly 900 pristine ponds scattered across Cape Cod are among the last untouched corners of wilderness. I was so determined to protect turtles, that I embarked on a series of schemes to protect their ponds. I wanted them to stay wild and beautiful.

I started by creating a pond guide. In it, I appealed to readers with requests like, “Please leave fallen trees in the water,” and “please don’t let your dog tear up the shoreline, and please pick up after it.” But people didn’t appreciate being told what to do, so I shifted my efforts to elementary schools, hoping to inspire children to respect wildlife by observing, rather than grabbing at plants or chasing wild animals.

Still, in every classroom, the first question was always the same: “Did you bring any frogs or...