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A huge thank you to The Kimberley Echo, ABC East Kimberley and Waringarri Media for helping share the story of Big Fire – Big Dream.
Your support has helped shine a light on the importance of creating spaces where Aboriginal men can come together to strengthen culture, build connections, support one another and lead positive change for their families and communities.
We appreciate your commitment to sharing stories that celebrate community-led solutions and the people making a difference across the East Kimberley.
Thank you to Waringarri Media and Donny for hosting this important conversation with Jeremy Donovan and Dr Clinton Schultz as they reflect on this year’s Big Fire – Big Dream: Strong In Our Way Men’s Forum.
The discussion explores healing, leadership, culture, connection to Country, and the importance of creating spaces where men can come together, share stories, support one another and strengthen their journeys.
If you missed the forum, this is the opportunity to hear directly from two of the facilitators about the conversations, insights and aspirations that emerged from a powerful few days on Country.
At Home Valley Station, the setting for this year’s Big Fire – Big Dream: Strong In Our Way Men’s Forum 2026, participants gathered on Country to connect, reflect and strengthen their journeys of healing.
Following three powerful days of conversations, learning and connection, Associate Professor Dr Clinton Schultz and forum co-facilitator Jeremy Donovan sat down to share their reflections.
Together, they spoke about the importance of being on Country and the willingness of the men who attended to engage in conversations about healing, growth and wellbeing. They reflected on the need to normalise discussions about healing, creating safe spaces where men can speak openly, support one another and draw strength from culture, identity and connection.
The conversation explored how strength-based approaches can help shift the narrative, focusing not on deficits, but on the strengths, knowledge and leadership that already exist within men. In doing so, the forum demonstrated what culturally responsive practice looks like in action—creating opportunities for men to connect on Country, learn from one another, draw strength from culture and lead their own conversations about healing and wellbeing. They discussed the importance of creating positive environments that men can take back to their homes, workplaces and communities, helping to build stronger futures for the next generation.
They also reflected on the forum’s theme, Big Fire – Big Dream. Jeremy shared that a fire fuelled by petrol will explode and burn everything around it, but a fire built carefully with wood can provide warmth, bring people together and sustain a whole community.
Just as fire is used to heal and care for Country, creating renewal and new growth, the forum challenged men to consider how they can build and nurture their own fire—one that regenerates, rejuvenates and creates positive change for themselves, their families and their communities.
As the forum concluded, one message remained clear: when men are given the opportunity to connect, heal and lead in their own way, the impact reaches far beyond the gathering itself.
Thank you to all of our presenters, the team that bought this together and the men that stood in the fire.
We’re pleased to welcome Caleb Edelsten, Chief Operations Officer at Ord Valley Aboriginal Health Service (OVAHS), as one of the local facilitators sharing his knowledge and experience at this year’s Big Fire Big Dream Men’s Forum.
Caleb is passionate about supporting stronger outcomes for Aboriginal people across the East Kimberley and brings a wealth of experience working alongside communities to improve health and wellbeing.
During his workshop, Caleb will share practical tips and tools that men can use to support emotional regulation, wellbeing and resilience, while also creating space for honest conversations about the challenges and opportunities men face in their everyday lives.
For Caleb, one of the things he values most about living in the East Kimberley is the strong sense of community and the opportunity for two-way learning that comes from working alongside local people.
Join Caleb and a range of local and national speakers at Big Fire Big Dream as we come together to share stories, strengthen connections and support men’s healing journeys.
Local Men. Local Stories. Local Leadership.
One of the most powerful parts of this year’s Big Fire – Big Dream Men’s Forum will be hearing directly from local men’s champions who have walked their own journeys and are now supporting others to do the same.
Facilitators from OVHAS, GY and KWAC’s Men’s Shed will lead practical workshops focused on giving tips and tools to support regulation and wellbeing.
These sessions will create space for honest conversations, shared learning and real-life strategies that men can take home and use in their everyday lives. Drawing on lived experience, cultural knowledge and years of community work, facilitators will share their stories, challenges, lessons and the tools that have helped them navigate life’s ups and downs.
Big Fire – Big Dream is about more than conversations. It’s about men learning from men, building stronger connections and walking together towards healthier futures.
We will also welcome Troy Reardon, founder of The Comeback Co., a lived-experience mentor working in addiction recovery, men’s wellbeing and community-led healing.
Troy’s life journey has been shaped by addiction, violence and the long, deliberate work of finding his way back. Growing up in housing commission, losing his father to addiction, and navigating the impacts of addiction within his family, Troy’s early years were marked by significant adversity.
Today, Troy mentors’ men one-on-one through gambling, drug and alcohol recovery, runs weekly community training programs for young men doing it tough, and delivers lived-experience talks across Australia. His work is grounded in honesty, brotherhood, accountability and the belief that healing happens through connection and walking alongside others.
Troy’s participation in the Men’s Forum will support important conversations around recovery, resilience, vulnerability, men’s wellbeing and the power of community in creating change.
CREATIVE WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT
We’re excited to welcome Salty One (Lowell Hunter) to the Stronger In Our Way Men’s Forum 2026 at Home Valley.
A proud Nyul Nyul Saltwater man from the Kimberley, Lowell is a multi-award-winning artist whose work has been recognised nationally for its powerful connection to culture, Country, identity and storytelling. Through his unique sand art, photography and creative practice, Lowell creates space for people to connect, reflect and share stories in a different way.
As part of this year’s forum, Lowell will lead a creative workshop with the men, creating an opportunity to slow down, connect, yarn and explore culture, healing and expression through art.
The forum is about bringing men together to strengthen identity, leadership, wellbeing and connection to culture. We’re proud to have creative voices like Lowell joining us on Country to share their knowledge, skills and story.
The 2026 Men’s Forum — Big Fire, Big Dream, continues to bring together an incredible group of speakers, facilitators and leaders, with Dr Clinton Schultz joining this year’s forum.
Dr Clinton Schultz is a First Nations psychologist, Director of First Nations Strategy and Research at the Black Dog Institute, and a nationally respected leader in social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and culturally responsive healing approaches.
Through his work across research, clinical practice and community engagement, Dr Schultz has become a strong voice for approaches that centre culture, connection, identity and lived experience in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.
His work focuses on strengthening culturally informed responses to trauma, suicide prevention, mental health and healing, while advocating for systems change that better reflects the realities, strengths and voices of First Nations peoples and communities.
Dr Schultz’s participation in the Men’s Forum will help guide important conversations around healing, wellbeing, leadership and strengthening men, families and communities.
Darryl Gardiner, a Wiradjuri man and founder of Rolling With The Punches, will join the 2026 Men’s Forum as co-facilitator alongside Jeremy Donovan, a Kuku Yalanji man from Jeremy Donovan Group/Walking With Wisdom.
Darryl is a trauma-informed practitioner working at the intersection of lived experience, healing and prevention, with a journey shaped by early exposure to violence, addiction and justice involvement before undertaking a long path toward accountability, recovery and non-violence.
Today, Darryl delivers counselling-informed programs, trauma-responsive breathwork and keynote presentations across the mental health, justice, AOD and family violence sectors. His work focuses on prevention, early intervention and breaking intergenerational cycles of harm through culturally safe, strengths-based practice.
Joining him is Jeremy Donovan, a respected Aboriginal leader and facilitator who has spent many years supporting Aboriginal men, families and communities across Australia. Jeremy’s work centres on healing, leadership, cultural strengthening and creating safe spaces for men to connect, reflect and grow. He is also leading the Northern Australian Aboriginal Men’s Alliance (NAAMA) project, helping connect men’s groups from east to west across Northern Australia.
Together, Darryl and Jeremy will help guide important conversations around healing, accountability, culture and leadership at the 2026 Men’s Forum — Big Fire, Big Dream.
