Biology

A team from WKU’s Crawford Hydrology Laboratory (CHL) and the WKU Mahurin Honors College (MCH) recently returned from Vancouver Island, Canada, where they attended the biennial EuroMAB conference. The event is a gathering of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Biosphere Reserves representing Europe and North America.

Maggie Gnann, a sophomore from Danville, Kentucky majoring in Environmental, Earth, and Sustainability Sciences, was also in attendance at the conference. A Mahurin Honors student and 2025 WKU Cherry Presidential Scholar, Gnann was joined in Canada by Lee Anne Bledsoe, Assistant Director of the CHL, and Dr. Chris Groves, Director of the CHL and University Distinguished Professor. 

The CHL is a nationally recognized research and service center within the WKU Ogden College of Science and Engineering's Applied Research and Technology Program (ARTP) that specializes in groundwater flow investigations, fluorescent dye tracing, and karst landscapes to provide solutions for complex water resource issues.

Gnann is one of two 2026 Mahurin/Crawford Environmental Research Fellows, a program established in 2022 to support students completing Honors thesis and capstone projects. At the conference, she networked with global attendees working with the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves. Through these connections, Gnann gathered information for her thesis research on sustainability in often-remote mountain communities.

"Maggie’s experience reflects exactly what we strive to provide through the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences: opportunities for students to connect what they learn in the classroom to meaningful research and partnerships addressing complex environmental and sustainability challenges,” Dr. Leslie North, Chair of the Department, said. “We are incredibly proud of her and grateful to Ms. Bledsoe and Dr. Groves for the mentorship and connections that are helping Maggie grow as a scholar and recognize the global relevance of her work.”

The impact of a collaborative approach to student success is echoed by leaders in MHC, where Gnann is completing her fellowship.

"By partnering with the Crawford Hydrology Lab, we've opened doors for excellent scholars like Maggie to conduct research that will put them in conversation with international academic communities," Dr. Lindy Davidson, Director of MHC, said. "These early exposures allow students to participate in global problem solving and set them on a trajectory for long-term success."

WKU students, faculty, and staff have collaborated with UNESCO science and conservation programs for more than 30 years. Established in the early 1970s, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program maintains a network of 797 International Biosphere Reserves in 145 countries. These reserves serve as natural laboratories to better understand the relationships between people and their environment through efforts to foster sustainable development, encourage the open exchange of knowledge, honor cultural traditions, alleviate poverty, and build more resilient communities.

Locally, Mammoth Cave National Park is recognized by UNESCO as both an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. As a key component of CHL professional service programs, Bledsoe and Dr. Groves have been active in the leadership of the U.S. MAB program for many years, and both have served on the Steering Committee for the US Biosphere Network. Bledsoe, who currently serves as Chair of the Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region Advisory Council, has attended previous EuroMAB meetings in France and Ireland alongside students. During the conference in Canada, Dr. Groves led a session exploring global properties with multiple UNESCO designations, areas he describes as "the most special of the most special places."

For WKU researchers and students, this level of international engagement yields benefits far beyond the university campus.

"These programs have not only provided opportunities for students and others in the WKU community to travel throughout the world," Dr. Groves said, "but also to contribute to the understanding and protection of the world's most special places."