Inyo County School Programs

ESIA interpretive staff help support the Inyo County Office of Education (ICOE) outdoor education program for schools in the Owens Valley from Lone Pine to Round Valley.

Eastern Sierra Watershed Project

We also partner with ICOE’s Eastern Sierra Watershed Project (ESWP), offering field science opportunities to 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade classes. The field data obtained through ESWP is then used by the Lower Owens River Project to support the historic re-watering of the Lower Owens River. Students learn about watersheds, water quality, and water resource management through hands-on outdoor scientific data collection and experiments throughout the school year.

Taking Root

In collaboration with the Inyo County Office of Education (ICOE) and the Bishop Paiute Tribe, ESIA helps facilitate this monthly program. Third-grade students learn how to think like a naturalist by observing the world around them. In an outdoor setting, students learn to use their senses, curiosity, and imagination to ask questions and make intellectual and emotional connections with their environment.

Branching Out

This program was developed in collaboration with the Bishop Paiute Tribe specifically with the assistance of the Tribe’s Environmental Management Office and Cultural Center. Fifth graders learn to incorporate different ways of knowing and Technical Ecological Knowledge with Western science. Students connect real-world, local Indigenous experiences and understanding with History Social Science Standards.

SnowSchool with Bishop & Mammoth Elementary Schools

A Winter Wildlands Alliance education program that provides a unique opportunity for fifth-graders to hop outside and learn firsthand about their watershed. Kids strap on snowshoes, dig pits, study snow crystals, and play in the snow to make a personal connection with the snowpack and the water they drink daily.
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The Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association along with Friends of Inyo work together in Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. We combine a classroom visit with a day in the snow. If you are in the Eastern Sierra and would like SnowSchool brought to your classroom please reach out to .
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This program is nationwide, working with 35,000 students at 70 different locations.
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If you would like to support SnowSchool, please consider MAKING A DONATION and select “SnowSchool Fund”.
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Additionally, we are seeking donations of gently used snow boots, snow pants, gloves, jackets, and other winter attire. Please email to arrange donation drop off/ pick up.

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Adopt-a-School

this is a program funded through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power where 4th-grade students spend a day hiking into Rock Creek to learn more about watersheds, Leave No Trace ethics, and more.

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Animal Tracking Magic

ESIA took part in the Youth Summer Reading Challenge! This year’s theme is: magic mountain. Join ESIA and Mono County Library for these special programs at the Mammoth Lakes Library, June Lake Library, and Lee Vining Library.

Eastern Sierra Outdoor Youth Program

Eastside Sports, in partnership with the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association and Columbia Sportswear, is proud to offer the Eastern Sierra Youth Outdoor Program! This program provides opportunities for youth of our area, ages 12 – 18, to participate in a 6-day climbing and backpacking camp each June. Thanks to a generous grant from Donald M. Slager Sunset Foundation, Columbia Sportswear, and Eastside Sports there is no cost to participate (though donations to the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association are accepted to help endow next year’s program).

The program is led and facilitated by experienced outdoor education professionals with many years of experience. Todd Vogel, Eastside Sports co-owner, has spent over 25 years working as a professional mountain guide and outdoor educator. All other staff are people with similar experience.

Complete the following forms and email them to , drop them off at Eastside Sports, or mail them to:
Eastside Sports
Attn: youth outdoors
224 North Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514

Questions? Call Todd at 760-920-0774.
Disregard the dates on these forms.  For more information, click HERE.

Other Programs