In the garden at Badger Rock Middle School, eighth-graders Sammy Garcia-Sierra and Aiden Colak are carefully tending dozens of seedlings and transplanting them into pots.
They will soon sell the plants they grow as part of a do-it-yourself watercolor painting kit, with instructions on how to boil the leaves to extract the natural dye. Their friends are also making plant kits containing the ingredients needed to make pickles, salsa, enchilada sauce, and soap.
The project is a partnership between the nonprofit organization Rooted and CEOs of Tomorrow. His 8th grade students at Badger Rock will be building their own businesses throughout the semester, selling products made from plants found in their urban gardens.
“I like that they’re teaching us this at a really young age,” Garcia-Sierra said. “If we want to start our own business, we already know how to do it and can take the next step in high school or college.”
Eighth grade students Harper and Amelia replant seeds in the Badger Rock urban garden. This class will sell kits for making salsa, enchilada sauce, spicy pickles, soap, and watercolors.
Although the students end up taking home a portion of the profits, the class is “not just about making money,” says Farmer and Education Director at Rooted, a food justice and urban farming organization. says Sarah Carlson. This is also a lesson in social entrepreneurship. Students donate a portion of their proceeds to an organization of their choice.
“The students are really at the heart of it, and that’s what makes this class so unique,” Carlson said. “I don’t know if you can find anywhere else where three agencies work together and truly focus on the students in the center.”
“This is a place where they can translate their dreams and visions into action and reality,” she said.
Last year, students created kits for customers to make three types of hot sauce, each priced at $15. The products sold out and the class donated her 15% of the proceeds to the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County.
This year’s student kits will go on sale the second week of May. Customers can purchase products online and pick them up at the Badger Rock Neighborhood Center, 501 E. Badger Road, on May 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Principal Joey Rosas speaks to Badger Rock’s 8th grade students while making spicy pickle kits.
unique collaboration
Badger Rock is a diverse charter school located on Madison’s south side. Nearly 70% of students are economically disadvantaged.
Among its unusual features are community partnerships and a focus on sustainability, urban agriculture, and social justice. The school shares a building with Rooted and Badger Rock Neighborhood Center. Students play an important role there, staffing the gardens and the center’s produce market, and helping out at Rooted’s free community dinners each month.
Throughout the school year, CEOs of Tomorrow youth empowerment coaches Emily Fisher and Antwon Cripps have been teaching Badger Rock’s 8th graders the basics of starting and marketing their own business. Since 2016, the nonprofit organization has offered youth programs focused on social entrepreneurship education.
“Maybe college or higher education isn’t the path for them,” Fisher said. “It starts to build an understanding of alternative paths and what business skills are needed.”
Antwon Cripps (far left), Sarah Carlson (blue shirt, center), and Emily Fisher (far right) lead the student entrepreneurship program.
Each student group came up with their own business name and logo. And this year, they chose to donate to the Salvation Army, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, The Trevor Project, Briarpatch Youth Services, and the Boys & Girls Club, which serves some of the students in the class.
Meanwhile, Carlson has taught students how to grow plants and use them in various recipes from different cultures. She also provided guidance on caring for the plants that she eventually plans to sell as part of a kit.
During a recent class day, some students told the Cap Times that they gained the tools to run their own companies in the future.
“We get to make money, but it’s also for a good cause,” said Carlos Rodriguez, one of the students on the soap kit team called Badger Rock Essence. “It shows how students can become entrepreneurs and do anything they really want to do.”
Kayla Huynh joined Cap Times in 2021 after three years covering higher education, covering K-12 education. She attended Northwestern University-Madison and graduated with a master’s degree in journalism.
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