Katherine Lowe is in her happy place.
“I would be out here every day if I could,” Lowe said. “I honestly, I absolutely love doing this.”
The Brooklynite is a volunteer with the Billion Oyster Project. The project aims to buy the local oyster population back to its pre-20th century levels so the mollusks can clean New York’s water, help protect coastlines against storm surge and provide a habitat for other sea life.
What You Need To Know
- Katherine Lowe maintains oyster reefs and tests water for the Billion Oyster Project
- Her volunteer work with water stems from her love of open water swimming and kayaking
- She also tests water off the Brooklyn’s coasts and helps recreational boaters
“Water has been a big part of my life and it is my intention that I want to be part, even if it’s a small part, I just want to be part of the, of the solution,” Lowe said.
Lowe got involved with the project two years ago. A lifelong swimmer and boater, she learned about the nonprofit when she was kayaking around the Statue of Liberty.
“I got really, really excited about it and then I, literally within a week, I was volunteering in the shell pile at Governor’s Island,” she said.
Lowe quickly became a regular.
She and her fellow volunteers now check in on the oysters and educate people about their role in the harbor. Lowe also tests the water in Brooklyn Bridge Park each week.
“So that people are utilizing the water that weekend know it, it’s a safe place for them to fish or swim or kayak or boat or have their kids next to,” Lowe said.
When Lowe isn’t volunteering with the project, she’s trying to help New York’s waters in other ways. She pitches in at coastal clean-ups and serves as a safety boater for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse.
“Anything that I can volunteer with in terms of, like, getting people to appreciate New York waterways, like, that’s my jam,” Lowe said.
Every oyster, every task, is part of a simple objective. Lowe wants to get New York’s water so clean that everyone can enjoy it as much as she does.
“It’s a huge part of my life,” Lowe said. “It fills up my soul because I am so passionate about this water and I want it to be swimmable. That’s my ultimate goal.
For channeling her love of the water to help her community, Katherine Lowe is our New Yorker of the Week.
