This year, a semester-long climate change elective was introduced to Marlborough for the first time by Science Instructor Catherine Mino and Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Regina Rosi-Mitchell. The elective combines two topics the teachers believed were crucial to study in tandem: climate change and entrepreneurship. 

The inspiration behind the class came after Mino and Rosi-Mitchell were planning the RegenerateZ climate summit with students last year. The event was not able to happen because of the pandemic, however, it sparked an idea.

“Unfortunately, due to COVID, the event did not happen but through the process of planning, we were able to see the several intersections between business, innovation and climate change,” Mino said. 

The course aims to help students understand climate change and its effects, and to focus on climate change and entrepreneurship together. The course studied the greenhouse effect, feedback loops, impacts of climate change and adaptation and mitigation strategies. 

“Even though this is an entrepreneurship class, we completed science labs to deepen the understanding of these various topics,” Mino said. “We highlighted businesses such as Nohbo Balls, Grouphug and Patagonia that are taking on the issue of climate change.” 

Ellie ’25, whose favorite part of the class was coming up with solutions to things that create waste, enjoyed the range of topics the class covered.

“I took the class because I am interested in entrepreneurship and climate change,” Ellie said. “I thought that it would be interesting to learn about people and companies who are working to help reverse climate change as well as come up with a solution.”

The final project for the elective was to think of an idea for a business to solve a particular problem regarding climate change. Some examples were fabric wrapping paper, microplastic-free soap and shopping website extensions. Mino and Rosi-Mitchell are now teaching a class that combines the ideas of food and entrepreneurship, and hope to continue these semester-long elective courses regarding issues facing our society. Rosi-Mitchell loved hearing the creative solutions that combined business and climate change.

“My favorite part of teaching ecopreneurship was watching students pitch their ideas for business solutions that combat climate change,” Rosi-Mitchell said. “Business can be a lever for social good, and I love watching students take the first step in turning their ideas into reality.”