Mountain Insect Explorers
An After-School Biodiversity Program for San Bernardino Mountain Students
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
2 ways to help support our after-school programs
ATBI Soil Sampling Guide
Insect sweep net training video
Protocols in this sampling series include:
Downloadable PDFs
Training Videos
Resources:
Mountain Insect Explorers
An After-School Biodiversity Program for San Bernardino Mountain Students
Participating in the 2026 CalATBI Statewide Student Insect Collection BioBlitz
Small Creatures - Big Discoveries!
Exploring Nature. Creating an Archive. Preserving Mountain History.
Mountain Insect Explorers is the first after-school educational program presented by Fallsvale Historic Schoolhouse, Inc. It invites students to explore mountain habitats, investigate the insects living around them, and help document the natural life of the San Bernardino Mountains.
Through observation, responsible insect collection, photography, field notes, and hands-on activities, students will learn how insects contribute to healthy ecosystems. They will explore the connections among insects, plants, wildlife, seasons, weather, and the mountain communities we call home.
The program will participate in the 2026 CalATBI Statewide Student Insect Collection BioBlitz. Students’ observations can contribute to a broader scientific effort to discover, document, and preserve knowledge of California’s biodiversity.
The records created through Mountain Insect Explorers will also help build a growing archive of mountain nature and community history. Photographs, observations, dates, locations, field notes, and personal stories can preserve a picture of our mountain environment as it exists today. Over time, these records may help future generations understand how local habitats, wildlife, and communities have changed.
Nature and history are not separate. The forests, canyons, waterways, plants, insects, wildlife, and people of the mountains are all part of the same continuing story. By documenting what they discover, students become both young scientists and young historians.
Mountain Insect Explorers encourages curiosity, careful observation, environmental responsibility, and an appreciation for the natural and cultural history of the San Bernardino Mountains. Sometimes preserving history begins by stopping to notice something small.
Our first after-school program began with a recommendation from our friend Dr. Michael J. Sharkey.
Michael introduced us to the 2026 Statewide Student Insect Collection BioBlitz, an initiative of the California All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, and encouraged us to bring this opportunity to mountain students through an after-school program. His recommendation opens the door for students to explore the natural world while participating in genuine biodiversity science.
Dr. Sharkey is an internationally respected entomologist and taxonomist specializing in Hymenoptera, the insect order that includes ants, bees, and wasps. His lifelong work discovering, studying, and documenting insect diversity demonstrates how much remains to be learned from even the smallest creatures around us.
We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Michael J. Sharkey for introducing us to this opportunity and inspiring a new generation of mountain students to observe carefully, ask questions, and become active participants in understanding California’s remarkable biodiversity.
