Melanie Ver Duin received the 2025 Sprout Teacher of the Year Award. Melanie is a Young Fives teacher at Mary A. White Elementary School. This year, she completed her first Groundswell project by working with her students to stabilize and protect a sand dune on their campus. Together, they explored solutions to dune erosion and installed native plants to increase local biodiversity. Melanie empowers her young students to slow down, observe, and take meaningful action. Congratulations, Melanie Ver Duin!

Keith Piccard received the 2025 Swell Teacher of the Year Award. Keith is a teacher at Allendale Middle School and has been a Groundswell educator for seven years, with over 23 years of teaching experience. Since 2001, he has led the Riparian Area Integrated Learning Project (RAIL Project), engaging students in hands-on research through aquatic entomology and stream ecology. His students investigate real-time changes in local stream ecosystems, becoming citizen scientists whose work has been published in national science journals and presented at conferences. Keith's teaching fosters curiosity, compassion, and a deep connection to the natural world. Congratulations, Keith Piccard!