SLIDE SHOW: Lost River Cave goes green for St. Patrick’s Day
Published 2:37 pm Saturday, March 14, 2026
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Eco-friendly fluorescent dye is poured into the river at Lost River Cave by experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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LJ Risteski, a graduate research assistant from Crawford Hydrology Lab, pours eco-friendly fluorescent dye into the river at Lost River Cave on Saturday, March 14, 2026, as he teaches a group of visitors about dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Eco-friendly fluorescent dye is poured into the river at Lost River Cave by experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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LJ Risteski, a graduate research assistant from Crawford Hydrology Lab, teaches a group of visitors about the eco-friendly fluorescent dye that can be poured into rivers and streams to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications beside one of Lost River Cave’s karst windows, known as Blue Hole 3, where the underground river is exposed to the surface on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Samples of eco-friendly fluorescent dye that can be poured into rivers and streams to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications are set out by experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab for visitors to see at Lost River Cave on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Shamrocks and leprechauns are hidden along the pathways at Lost River Cave for visitors to search for on a scavenger hunt on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in early celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Caroline Galdi, an education coordinator at Lost River Cave, explains a game to a group of visitors as they pretend to be the flow of a body of water to discover how eco-friendly dye can be picked up by coconut charcoal dye receptors while experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab pour the dye into the river at Lost River Cave to turn it green on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Visitors pick out green bands to simulate how eco-friendly dye can be picked up by coconut charcoal dye receptors as they learn about dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications while experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab pour the dye into the river at Lost River Cave to turn it green on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Eco-friendly fluorescent dye runs through the river at Lost River Cave after experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab poured the dye, which is non-toxic to animals and plants and dissipates after about six hours, in to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications and in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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LJ Risteski, a graduate research assistant from Crawford Hydrology Lab, pours eco-friendly fluorescent dye into the river at Lost River Cave on Saturday, March 14, 2026, as he teaches a group of visitors about dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Eco-friendly fluorescent dye is poured into the river at Lost River Cave by experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
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Eco-friendly fluorescent dye is poured into the river at Lost River Cave by experts from Crawford Hydrology Lab on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. (Grace McDowell / The Daily News)
Experts from WKU’s Crawford Hydrology Lab poured eco-friendly, non-toxic fluorescent dye into the river at Lost River Cave on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and to educate visitors on dye tracing techniques used to track river flow, trace where potential pollutants could run and other groundwater management applications. Visitors could also play games, go on a scavenger hunt along the trails and float along the green waters on a Cave Boat Tour.
