Inspiring Radical Empathy

What if kids were the researchers? In the second phase of our exploration into the Stomping Ground research project, we welcomed two remarkable members of our Camper Board. We delved into their hopes for the project, drawing from their extensive experience as longtime Stomping Ground campers.  Our conversation was a blend of playful curiosity and deep insights, exploring data collection techniques, analyzing golden ages, wrestling with ethical dilemmas around consent and anonymity, and brainstorming ways to infuse joy into data gathering! It was a fun and profound discussion that left me feeling inspired. The Camper Board is an experiment in trust and their leadership in this project continues to demonstrate the immense power and capability of kids.

Data makes the world go round. In this episode, we're joined by Tina and Maddy, our incredible partners from SUNY Geneseo who have been helping us design and conduct a research project about camp for the past couple of years. We believe that kids become more radically empathetic decision makers by practicing, and we're collecting the research to back it up. We talk about what shape this project has taken in the past, all that we've learned, and where it's going next summer and beyond. We are shifting to a much more camper-led approach, we talk about sharing power with youth and partnering with them to create a project that they're excited and passionate about. We also talk about how empowering it is to learn how to read data and how learning even basic research skills can open up doors of possibilities. Join us for an exciting conversation and stay tuned for part two where we talk with our Camper Board about their hopes and dreams for this research project.

For our season finale, we welcome on Lynda and Clayton from the Center for Dispute Settlement. This five episode run was all about bringing you real stories from real people who experienced the power of restorative justice. These two come with a wealth of knowledge and examples of how this work can impact our greater communities. With restorative practices we can start to understand what it means to forgive, heal, and learn in community. 

One of our values at camp is unbounded creativity. Often that means how we make up games, silly characters, and imaginative adventures at Stomping Ground. But we also understand creative practices can enhance restorative practices. In this episode we chat with two different artists. Jade, a photographer and teaching artist who has worked with camp before, and Eli, a music therapist in Rochester NY.

Grief is an emotion that often can be scary and difficult to address within ourselves. How do we move on and remember a loved one who has passed away? How do we find empathy in those moments? Join us as we sit with Alex and Bianca from the Gandhi Institute, and we talk through how circles can act as a tool for processing grief. 

Restorative justice might be considered an "alternative form" of justice. But what we don't realize is these ideas and values show up in more traditional settings than we realize each day as we continue to push this work. Today we have on Kristina and Johanna, who talk about their experience working in and through mental health courts, and how these programs can offer folks more capabilities to address the harm they have caused and work through their own internal conflicts. 

This season is all about listening to the folks who have done the work. They sat in the circles, and worked through their conflict. And it wasn't always easy, but result we hope to find is more empathy and understanding. For our first episode we sit down with Christian Garcia, a Stomping Ground staff member and youth development professional to hear his first experiences with restorative justice. 

This season we have discussed what restorative justice looks like at the micro level in our personal lives, in camps, in schools, and how it is connected to the racial justice movement. We believe in seeing conflict as an opportunity for innovation and connection, and that it can create more confident kids and more connected communities.Join us for our season finale, as we sit down with Shira May, Isobel Davies, and Majorie Isaacs to talk about the power restorative justice can have at a societal level, and how we can change the systems and communities we are all a part of.

We know that overuse of suspension, expulsion, and other harsh disciplinary policies in schools increases the likelihood that youth will enter the juvenile or criminal justice systems. This impacts youth of color, LGBTQ youth, and youth with different learning abilities at a disproportionate rate compared to their white counterparts. In this episode we sit down with Jessica Nordquist and Nolica Murray to talk about how restorative justice practices can play a crucial role in changing this reality for our schools. 

We believe camp is the best place to build and scale trust and that camps are inherently restorative. Across the board summer camp focuses on fostering relationships and building community, which is directly in line with restorative justice practices. At the same time, several camps have different ways of dealing with conflict. Join us as we chat with Nick Lomauro and Dynasty Rutledge about their camp experiences, and uncover how this work is making its way into summer camps across the country. 

Join us as we start to dive into what restorative justice means. Laura and Klee look at the history of these practices, reference different thought leaders, and share stories from their first experiences participating in circles. 

A podcast dedicated to inspiring the next generation of radically empathetic decision makers. Join the directors of Stomping Ground in this first season as we unpack restorative justice, and the impact these practices can have on our world.