Upper Cape Tech labs to add cameras, weather stations, HAZMAT/oil spill simulators

Asad Jung, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

BOURNE — Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School received nearly $2.5 million as part of the Massachusetts Skills Grant Program.

The news came Sept. 27 from Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, and Education Secretary James Peyser, who visited Westfield Technical Academy to make the announcement, according to a news release from Upper Cape Tech’s Superintendent Roger Forget.

“We are ecstatic, and a little overwhelmed,” Forget said.

What will $2.5 million buy?

The money will go towards bolstering the environmental science and technology labs with the latest tools and equipment, giving students an edge in their learning and making sure they are well prepared to enter the workforce.

Plans to host a vaccination clinic Friday at Upper Cape Regional Technical High School in Bourne were stopped by the state Department of Public Health. Tuesday. The clinic was scheduled for employees at the school.
Plans to host a vaccination clinic Friday at Upper Cape Regional Technical High School in Bourne were stopped by the state Department of Public Health. Tuesday. The clinic was scheduled for employees at the school.

More: Here are ways Cape Cod schools are teaching students to combat changes to ocean, beaches

New lab equipment will include microscopes, HAZMAT/oil spill simulators, sampling devices, field and marine access vehicles, cameras and weather stations.

The environmental science industry is extremely diverse and in need of skilled workers in fields including  wastewater, renewable energy, and aquaculture, to name a few, Forget said.

It’s especially relevant to the Cape and Islands, Forget said.

“Here on the Cape, we are so minded about good stewardship to our environment, and to the local economy and how that affects it."

More: These new Cape teachers bucking trend of those leaving education

Upper Cape Tech was one of 14 high schools in Massachusetts to receive money from the grant, each high school receiving between $1 million to $2.5 million to modernize labs and expand student enrollment in career education programs.

The Skills Capital Grant Program was launched in 2015 to help vocational technical high schools and community colleges update antiquated equipment and technology.

Upper Cape Tech has applied for other grants, and hopes those endeavors will be fruitful, too, Forget said.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape tech school labs to get cameras, weather stations, microscopes