NEW FEATURE – UMF Stories: Becky Hallowell, UMF alumna and 2025 Maine Teacher of the Year, wraps up a remarkable year

Becky Hallowell, a University of Maine at Farmington alumna and fourth grade teacher at Wiscasset Elementary School is wrapping up a remarkable year as the 2025 Maine Teacher of the Year—a year she says felt like a “whirlwind of opportunities.”

Becky received her UMF Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education in 1994, followed by her USM Master of Science in Educational Leadership in 2011, and is currently enrolled in UMF’s Nature-Based Education Graduate Certificate.

Her mother, also a Farmington graduate, taught first-grade for years and inspired her to become a teacher. However, it was the hands-on field experience she had as an undergraduate at UMF that planted the seeds that helped Becky “start thinking of the power of taking students outside to learn.”

Inspiring learning with nature

An innovative educator, she became a huge supporter of nature-based education in her fourth-grade classroom and its value of fostering focused and resilient learners. According to Becky, the benefits of nature-based education go beyond academics. The students who are often overlooked in the classroom, who are quiet, or not as confident, often thrive in nature.

“I have students who don’t offer to share at all in the classroom grab my hand outside to show me ants and mushrooms they have discovered,” said Becky. “When we use nature journals, the students who are shy about speaking share beautifully illustrated birds they have observed. Students who struggle with attention and self-control in the classroom are on task not only while we are outside, but also when we return to the classroom.”

Nature-based learning is surging throughout the country, according to Becky, and the Teacher of the Year program run by Educate Maine in partnership with the Maine Dept. of Education has given her the opportunity to talk with and learn from teachers throughout the state as well as the country.

Energized to reach out

The Teacher of the Year process begins with gathering nominations for the County Teacher of the Year. The teachers selected as County Teachers of the Year work together in service of education throughout the state, learn how educational policy is created and are invited to become part of the process.

“As I was going through the selection process to become the Maine Teacher of the Year, I had to develop a keynote speech and I naturally spoke about the power of nature-based education,” said Becky.  “Once I became Maine Teacher of the Year, I was given the opportunity to speak at several events and offer professional development sessions throughout the state.”

Becky added that the preparation she received in her Educational Leadership master’s program gave her confidence to ask questions and think critically with her Teacher of the Year speaking engagements.

The power of leadership

“One of the best parts of being Maine Teacher of the Year has been the ability to talk with and learn from teachers regarding not just nature-based education, but education in general,” said Becky. “High school teachers are creating citizen science and service projects for their students. Middle school teachers are creating and caring for gardens. Early childhood educators are incorporating nature into their lessons as they find tracks and use stones as manipulatives.” 

“The networking I did this past year helped me bring management trainees from Bangor Savings Bank to my fourth grade as they taught the students how to make a pitch. A conversation with a mycologist has set my students up with an opportunity to field test bobbers made of mycelium. As I was sharing ideas with Illinois State Teacher of the Year, Dr. Rachael Mahmood, we came up with a geography lesson that brought our students together in a virtual conference,” she said.

Becky’s primary goal is to continue supporting teachers getting started with nature-based learning, to continue to offer professional development and share her work while also looking to learn from others.

“I want my students to see the journey I went on as Maine Teacher of the Year as an invitation to be bold, to face the challenges that intimidate them. For students who are considering education, I would love them to see teaching as a powerful career, one that has great influence on the future,” said Becky.