Sacred Playgrounds Podcast Sacred Playgrounds

finale {n.} the last and often climactic event or item in a sequenceIt's the last episode of season 3 of the Sacred Playgrounds Podcast! Whether it's your first time or you've been along for the ride since our first episode, thanks for listening! It's an honor, and a lot of fun, to talk camp with you and for you.On this episode, we'll run through our season 3 episodes with a quick recap and call to listen back to one or more if there's an idea you're focusing on for the summer ahead. We'll al...

On this episode, we're sharing the mic with a good friend and camp research colleague! We're deeply honored to chat with the Senior Director of Research and Education for the American Camp Association (ACA), Laurie Browne, PhD.Laurie joins us to unpack some key camp research learnings from the big picture at the ACA including important projects like the ACA Youth Impact Study, the Character at Camp Initiative, and the National Economic Impact Study. Not only does she have incredible insight i...

Every now and then, I get a little bit restlessAnd I dream of something wild- Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse of the Heart"Eclipse week! Epic, singular experiences are our specialty at camp, and yet, how we prepare campers and families for integration of faith in the totality of life is the real heart of our ministry.On this episode, we'll hear the story of Jake and his family's adventure into the path of totality for the April 2024 solar eclipse and draw some interesting, actionable connections ...

It's launch week for Holy Ground 2024!It's no secret, so says the research, that summer staff are the heart of camping ministry. We know they need support, agency, and faithful community to thrive. That's why we constructed the Holy Ground summer staff guidebook for the third year.On this episode, we'll quickly share the what, how, and why of Holy Ground. Then, the heart of this episode is two conversations we had with special guests Renzi Ricketts, Director of Summer Camp at St. Christopher ...

Check!We're gearing up, camp family! For many, it's time to begin forming our plans for staff training, even as we continue to recruit and hire staff. We're bringing you 8(+1) items on a summer staff training checklist to help you frame up a successful, impactful staff training experience that gets your summer staff well-equipped and wisely-prepared.Have an idea to add to this list? Have an idea for a resource for summer staff members? Drop it in the comments wherever you're listening. ...

We're constantly learning. Every season, we take care of each individual and/or group of camps we work with - creating reports, digging in with consults about the findings, and creating ways to help those insights tell stories. And, we take that data and compile it, looking at it from a higher level with richer numbers of responses. We do this to learn and identify trends across our broad outdoor ministry community.So, we've got 3 interesting, and more importantly, actionable, findings from t...