Hundreds of CCSD Students Sold Their Own Crops at the Giant Student Farmers Market

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

The market is put on by Green Our Planet, a nonprofit that runs STEM garden and hydroponics programs in schools. News 3 called it Green Our Planet's 13th Annual Fall Giant Student Farmers Market. According to News 3, more than 400 students from 44 CCSD schools took part. Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick hosted and sponsored the event.

Students brought two kinds of goods. The first was fresh produce grown in school gardens and school hydroponics labs. The second was handcrafted products the students made themselves. Shoppers lined up outside the Clark County Government Center on Grand Central Parkway to buy from them.

Ciara Byrne, the CEO and cofounder of Green Our Planet, explained the process to FOX5 Vegas. She said teachers started planting fruits and vegetables a few months ago, both in outdoor gardens and in hydroponics labs. Then students wrote business plans for their farmers market booths. Byrne said students work out pricing, marketing, and profit and loss, and that they are being trained to be young entrepreneurs.

News 3 reported that students practiced developing products, setting prices, marketing, customer service and money management. All of the money raised goes back to the school garden programs. That means what kids earned this week helps pay for next season's seeds, supplies and equipment. FOX5 and News 3 did not report a total for how much the market raised, so we are not going to put a number on it.

Fresh vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, radishes and onions on a market stall, like the produce students grew in CCSD school gardens

What Is Green Our Planet?

Green Our Planet is a nonprofit that helps schools build and run gardens and hydroponics labs. Its website says it has been doing this work since 2013. It says its programs have reached more than 1,100 schools across the United States and more than 300,000 students, and that it is used in 44 states and 5 countries.

Here in Clark County, several CCSD schools offer STEM gardens and hydroponics programs through the partnership. Green Our Planet helps supply the resources those programs need. Teachers then use the gardens to teach science, math and nutrition with real plants instead of just pictures in a book.

If "hydroponics" is a new word for you, here is the simple version. Hydroponics is a way to grow plants without soil. The roots sit in water that is mixed with nutrients. It can be done indoors, in towers or trays, which makes it a good fit for a classroom. It is also a smart idea in the desert, where outdoor growing can be tough for much of the year.

Green Our Planet describes its Giant Student Farmers Markets as the largest student-run markets in the nation. That claim comes from the organizers, and we did not find an independent count to confirm it. Either way, more than 400 kids from 44 schools is a big event by any measure.

A white hydroponic tower with leafy plants growing inside, similar to the hydroponics labs used in CCSD schools

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Most kids learn about money from worksheets. These kids learned it at a real booth, with real customers and real cash. They had to decide what to charge. They had to figure out how to get people to stop at their table. They had to make change and track what they sold. Those are skills a lot of adults still wish they had learned earlier.

The science side is just as real. Growing a tomato from seed to harvest teaches patience, planning and problem solving. When a plant dies, students have to figure out why. When a crop does well, they learn what worked. In a valley where summer heat can top 110 degrees, getting something to grow at all is a lesson in itself.

There is a health angle too. Kids who grow vegetables are often more willing to eat them. A garden at school can change how a family thinks about food at home. When a kid comes home proud of the lettuce they grew, parents tend to notice.

And there is a community angle. The market took place outside the Clark County Government Center, a public building that most families only visit for paperwork. For one morning, it was full of kids selling things they made. That is the kind of event that reminds people what our schools can do when they have support.

Finally, think about the reach. With students from 44 schools taking part, this was not one campus doing something special. It was kids from all over the district, side by side at the same market. For a district as big as CCSD, it is not often that students from so many schools share one space and one goal on the same morning.

Background and History

The Giant Student Farmers Market has been around for more than a decade. News 3 counted this year's fall event as the 13th annual. Last year's fall market was held on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the same Government Center location, according to a Vegas PBS event listing. That listing said the market was free to attend and described the student sellers as "Farmpreneurs."

The Vegas PBS listing also explained the lead-up. Students harvest their produce, make their handcrafted products and write business plans as part of Green Our Planet's financial literacy work. That lines up with what Byrne described this year: months of planting, then planning, then selling.

School gardens have been getting more attention around the valley. On this blog, we covered the Serenity Garden at Mission High School, a project tied to the Raiders Foundation. Green Our Planet works on a bigger scale, with gardens and hydroponics labs at many schools at once.

It has also been a good stretch for CCSD news. This same week, the district named 79 schools to its superintendent's honor roll, and the Las Vegas Athletics donated $45,000 and read with students at Jack Dailey Elementary. Taken together, it is a reminder that a lot of good things are happening in local classrooms.

Hands planting young seedlings in garden soil, the first step in a school garden season

From Seed to Sale: What Students Learn at Each Step

The market is the fun part, but it is the last step in a long process. Based on what Byrne and the event organizers described, here is how a season usually comes together for students.

Step one: plant. A few months before the market, teachers and students start planting. Some schools grow outside in garden beds. Others grow inside in hydroponics labs. Students learn how seeds sprout, what plants need and how to keep them alive.

Step two: grow and track. Over the following weeks, students water, check and care for their crops. This is where science class gets real. Kids watch what happens when a plant gets too much sun, not enough water or the wrong nutrients. They learn to fix problems instead of giving up.

Step three: plan the business. Students write business plans for their booths. They decide what to sell, which might be fresh produce, a handmade craft or both. They think about who their customers are and what those customers want.

Step four: set the price. This is where math shows up. Students figure out what their products cost to make and what people will pay. Charge too much, and nobody buys. Charge too little, and the booth loses money. That is profit and loss in action.

Step five: market and sell. On market day, students set up their tables, talk to shoppers and make sales. They practice customer service, which means being polite, answering questions and making change correctly. For a lot of kids, it is the first time they have sold something to a stranger.

Step six: give back. All the proceeds go back into the school garden programs. Students see that their work pays for the next round of planting. It is a full cycle, from seed to sale and back to seed.

Starting a Garden With Your Kids in Las Vegas

Gardening in the Mojave Desert is different from gardening almost anywhere else. But it can be done, and fall is a good time to start. Here are a few simple tips for families who want to try it at home.

Start small. A few pots on a patio or a single raised bed is plenty. Small wins keep kids interested.
Pick cool-season crops for fall. Leafy greens, herbs and root vegetables tend to do better in the cooler months here than in the heat of summer.
Give plants some shade. Even in fall, the desert sun is strong. A spot that gets afternoon shade can help.
Water wisely. Drip irrigation or careful hand watering uses less water than a sprinkler. Follow local watering rules for your area.
Check your HOA rules. Many Las Vegas neighborhoods have HOAs. Most allow patio pots and backyard beds, but it is smart to check before you build anything visible from the street.
Try hydroponics indoors. If outdoor space is tight, small indoor hydroponics kits let kids grow herbs on a kitchen counter, a lot like the labs in some CCSD classrooms.

When the first harvest comes in, let your kids "sell" it to the family for pretend money. It sounds silly, but it is the same lesson the students learned at the Government Center.

What Happens Next

For the schools, the work starts again right away. The money raised at the market goes back into their garden programs. That money can help pay for seeds, soil, nutrients and equipment for the next growing season.

The name of the event, the fall market, suggests the market runs more than once a year. Green Our Planet's website has a page for the Giant Student Farmers Market, and that is the best place to watch for the next date. If you missed this one, keep an eye out for the next.

For students, the lessons carry forward. A kid who priced lettuce this fall might be running a lemonade stand next summer, or a small business someday. Byrne called them young entrepreneurs, and for one morning downtown, that is exactly what they were.

Ryan's Take

I love seeing kids learn business by actually doing it. Pricing, marketing, profit and loss: that is the same stuff I deal with every day in real estate. When a student figures out that charging too much means nobody buys, and charging too little means you cannot cover your costs, they just learned the most basic lesson in any market, including the housing market.

This also says something about the neighborhoods these kids come from. Families shopping for homes often ask about test scores first. But programs like school gardens, hydroponics labs and student-run markets are what make a school feel alive. When I help a family pick a neighborhood, I always tell them to look past the rating and ask what the school actually does. A school with a garden, a business program and community partners is giving kids something extra.

One more thing. A lot of these students will be the next generation of Las Vegas business owners, and some of them will be my future clients buying their first homes. The ones who learned early how to budget, price and sell are going to be in a much better spot when that day comes. I would buy a bag of lettuce from any of them.

Fresh produce displayed at a farmers market table

Quick Answers

When was the market? Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026.

Where was it held? Outside the Clark County Government Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Who ran it? Green Our Planet, a nonprofit that runs school garden and hydroponics programs. Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick hosted and sponsored it.

How many students took part? News 3 reported more than 400 students from 44 CCSD schools.

Where does the money go? All proceeds go back to school garden programs.

What You Can Do

Ask your child's school if it has a garden or hydroponics program. If it does, find out how families can help, whether that is volunteering, donating supplies or just showing up to buy at the next market. If it does not, ask whether the school has looked into a partnership with Green Our Planet.

Watch for the next Giant Student Farmers Market on Green Our Planet's website. Bring cash, bring your kids and plan to buy a few things. Every purchase goes back to a school garden, and the students running the booths get real practice talking to customers.

You can also bring the lesson home. Grow something with your kids, even if it is just herbs in a pot on the patio. Talk about what it costs to grow and what it would sell for. It is a small, easy way to teach science and money at the same time.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.

Ryan Rose | Real Broker, LLC | 702-747-5921 | ryan@rosehomeslv.com | rosehomeslv.com