Volunteer Provided Support for Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association StoryMap

The Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (ESIA) has been committed to serving the Sierra for nearly fifty years. As one of the oldest nonprofits in the region, ESIA was established in 1970 by visionary citizens interested in helping the U.S. Forest Service provide interpretive education relevant to the unique surrounding landscape and to communicate with the public about the importance of public lands of the Sierra. Before receiving its nonprofit 501(c)3 status in 1971, ESIA became one of the first independent organizations in the United States to operate under a Participating Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service for interpretive services.  

ESIA requested one GISCorps volunteer for six months to train staff in how to create web maps and apps in ArcGIS Online, including how to use different templates. Specifically, the volunteer was to guide staff in their own development of a StoryMap using curated content about a National Park Service unit, the Manzanar National Historic Site, a former War Relocation Center. Shannon Julius, a GISCorps volunteer from California, was selected for the project.

ESIA staff and the GISCorps volunteer worked together to review the organization’s ArcGIS Online configuration, StoryMap capabilities, and media assets. It was determined that the StoryMap would rely on photos and text from the existing “Journey to Manzanar” story. This would take advantage of existing organization assets and give existing content a spatial component. The project team collaborated over several working sessions to bring the content into StoryMaps, taking advantage of Esri best practices. The GISCorps volunteer digitized a historic schematic of the Manzanar campus layout using ArcGIS Pro. This allowed ESIA staff to embed map elements in the StoryMap, adding a “tour” element to the story. 

The final StoryMap uses videos, historic and contemporary photos, text, and maps to give the reader a “Journey to Manzanar”. With hands-on experience over the course of the project, ESIA staff are now prepared to update existing ArcGIS Online content and create new content as needed for future storytelling and mapping initiatives. 

StoryMap cover page

StoryMap example content

Project completed