Two AAPS teachers and a parent volunteer honored for environmental excellence

The Environmental Excellence Partnership Program applauds Angie Wolney, Nick Mosher, and Sarah Frantom for building rain gardens at Tappan and Wines

Washtenaw County’s 2024 Environmental Excellence Awards recently recognized two outstanding rain garden projects at Ann Arbor Public Schools.

Angie Wolney and Nick Mosher led fifth-grade students in creating a rain garden at Wines Elementary School, while Sarah Frantom spearheaded four rain gardens at Tappan Middle School, securing grant funding for plants. Frantom also built a personal rain garden featuring the area’s first library Summer Games code.

These Environmental Excellence Partnership Program (E2P2) awards announced by the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office highlight exemplary achievements in water quality protection, waste reduction, and pollution prevention across the county.

The Rain Garden Leadership Awards were presented to:

• Angie Wolney and Nick Mosher for their leadership in building a rain garden at Wines Elementary School with the fifth grade student council.
• Sarah Frantom for her leadership in building four rain gardens at Tappan Middle School, including securing a Washtenaw County Conservation District Habitat Grant to buy plants. She also built a rain garden in her own yard that had the first ever library Summer Games code for a rain garden. 

Frantom says that during the 22 years she’s been at Tappan, where she’s taught both math and science, she’s always wanted to do something to make the school’s front space more appealing to all those that drive by.

“The idea of a rain garden came to fruition over the past few years that I’ve done the onsite Water Walk with my students through the AAPS Environmental Education program,” she says, “and we looked at places and spaces on our campus that would benefit from something like a rain garden. I had intended to do one garden as a model for others to do in the future, but had so much amazing support from the community and families that I did five total!”

As a parent at Wines Elementary for 10 years, a PTO board member, and committee chair of landscaping, Angie Wolney had been helping to take care of the school gardens since 2014. Being a school employee who worked as a lunch supervisor and volunteered in the Library and Art programs, she had created relationships with many of the students, which made it easy for them to work together.

Wolney (pictured below, with a black cap) took a rain garden class through the city several years ago, hoping to find the right project to make an impact at Wines Elementary. She had a few ideas, but the corner near the new modular building, where water and ice ran across the sidewalk, became the obvious spot and a good project for the oldest kids in the school.

She and the students worked in the rain garden at Wines most days for about two months in the spring of 2024. Kids worked during their lunch recess, afternoon breaks, and some stayed after school, Wolney said, noting that there were a couple of work weekends and after-school sessions when parents helped.

It was a challenge to get a 5th grade work crew without interrupting their time at the end of the school year, she said, adding that she didn’t want to impose on the teachers who were working hard to put all the pieces together during those final weeks, including 5th grade camp, the end of elementary school celebration, and music practices.

She explained that Wines teacher Nick Mosher made his 5th grade Student Council leaders available during their meeting times to learn about rain gardens and native plants. When the project was opened to all 5th graders, many volunteered to give up their recess time and even brought their lunch to work in the garden.

“I loved seeing the kids so happy at the completion of the project when they got to place their graduation stones in the garden before their class celebration,” she said.

Wolney  says she is grateful for her supportive husband Dennis Sczomak, who makes all her over-ambitious projects possible. When not working or volunteering at school, they are busy parenting their three children in 4th, 7th, and 10th grades, driving them to hockey practices, and volunteering as puppy raisers, training guide dogs for Leader Dogs for the Blind.