This is the 2024 workshop schedule to help you learn more about the camp format.
2027 workshops will be different and the full schedule will be released approximately six weeks before the event.
Friday 24 May
Saturday 25 May
Sunday 26 May
Friday 24 May
Day one 2024 - workshop schedule
Opening session - 9:00am - 9:45am
Presenter:Rebecca Adams
Opening address
This welcome session will set the tone for our weekend together. Rebecca will share important information about how to get the most from your Camp Widow experience, help to settle any nerves, and guide us all through steps we can take to ensure that Camp Widow 2024 is a supportive and successful event for everyone in our community.
Newly widowed: support during the first year of widowhood
The Camp Widow newly widowed workshop is designed for those who have been widowed for less than a year. The content for this workshop is based on research undertaken through the Soaring Spirits Resilience Centre, Texas. It will focus on providing...
Recently widowed: tools and tips for healing for those widowed one to three years
The Camp Widow recently widowed workshop is designed for those who were widowed anywhere from one to three years ago. The content for this workshop is based on research undertaken through the Soaring Spirits Resilience...
Middle widowed: hope and healing for those widowed three to five years
The Camp Widow middle widowed workshop is designed for those widowed three to five years. These middle widowhood years are generally a time of searching, rebuilding and getting to know yourself within the widowed experience...
Seasoned widowed: community building for those widowed five years and more
There are many common misconceptions about the length of time widowed people will need the support of their community. As widowed people continue to rebuild their lives, their need for access to and connection...
Join First Light’s co-founder Lauren Leslie, for this extremely young roundtable discussion. This roundtable discussion, for people aged in their 20’s and 30’s when they were widowed, will provide an opportunity for those, who typically find it the hardest to find each other and connect...
When the hits keep coming: navigating the really hard stuff without your person
The death of your person changes you, but how can it not?
You’re not only robbed of the future you’d planned and expected with them, but now you must navigate a multitude of new challenges without your biggest...
Chris Martin understands the struggle men can have with connecting and showing vulnerability. This will be a safe space where our widowers can chat privately, discuss the topics that are often difficult to raise in mixed company and encourage ongoing…
Parenting through grief - from surviving to thriving
Join Melissa for a workshop about supporting children (aimed at early years and primary school age) who are experiencing grief and loss. This workshop will focus on providing really practical strategies that can be implemented. Melissa will explore what you might...
Learn how to navigate the multitude of emotions you may experience on your healing journey, such as grief, sadness, anger and loneliness with yoga and practices to regulate your nervous system.
In the workshop Paula will provide education on...
Turning up the light: how to carry your grief forward into a Plan B life
This session explores what to do when the world has lost its sparkle. We’ll find ways to reach for the light, while honouring our loss.
Validated and supported by the group, we’ll create a practical plan to bring joy into our future...
Health is wealth - optimising personal advancement
In this session, Josh will take you on an interactive journey through human movement, nutrition and hydration. Exploring how how it is connected to us on an elemental level, and how we can enhance our mood and our state, therefore our lives, through understanding...
Whether you have returned to work, are thinking about it, are finding it really hard to manage or wondering what “work” means after losing your person, this session will give you tips to prepare for your return and help you settle back into the workplace...
Join First Light's co-founder Lauren Leslie, for this widowed by suicide roundtable discussion. This roundtable discussion, will provide time and support for attendees to meet and interact with others in similar situations.
We have a widowed person for that - 4:30pm - 5:45pm
CAMP ATTENDEES
We have a widowed person for that
Every widowed experience is different, and yet the way the person you love died or your circumstances may influence how you grieve. Connecting with other people whose loved one died in the same way as yours can offer a unique and powerful comfort as you move through your grief...
Join podcaster, writer, speaker, entrepreneur, educator and solo Mum Lisa Corduff, for an inspirational and motivational keynote address. Lisa is a powerful, honest and authentic storyteller.
Becoming a widowed person is a very disorienting experience.
Your life’s path is abruptly altered.
Everything you had planned, who you are, and what you want are suddenly thrown into question.
Join Anita and Mel, the playful hosts of the Widow We Do Now? Podcast...
Understanding anxiety and our emotional frequencies
This workshop will offer insights into the nature of anxiety, drawing from personal experience following the awakening of anxiety after the loss of my beloved husband, Glen. We will explore the roots of anxiety and examine various tools and techniques...
Join international bestselling novelist Emma Grey for a practical session on writing and grief.
Emma will share how writing about her personal journey as young widow – first in Facebook posts, then short articles and finally in a novel – helped her understand and...
This is another opportunity for our widowers to to gather together in a safe space to chat privately, share stories and discuss topics that are often difficult to raise in mixed company.
Join our facilitator Carren Stapleton, and our panel, for a conversation about navigating love after loss. Our panel will discuss those early days of realising this may be love, or the days of dating and “this was never meant to be love!”; along with...
Donna is an exceptional, award-winning Financial Adviser with a unique holistic approach to money.
Donna is a relatable individual who faced the tragedy of losing her husband at a young age, and has embarked on her passion – to support and uplift those...
This session aims to help attendees with mindfulness and choosing their mindset in the face of their grief.
Jodi and Robbie will
explore the idea of forgiving ourselves with grace and kindness when so often there is guilt about being alive...
Are you feeling tired and stressed? Are you in need of some self-care? The world doesn’t stop when you are grieving. Somehow, you have to find the energy and resilience to keep going, pay the bills etc, during an overwhelming time in your life when your workload...
Come have fun with Anita and Mel, hosts of the Widow We Do Now? Podcast as they host the Camp Widow Game Show.
This will be a chance to unwind and laugh at the ridiculous situation we are in as widowed people.
Parenting teens can be difficult (but oh so rewarding) at the best of times. Widowed parenting presents a completely different set of challenges, rewards and a whole array of emotions and feelings that we often can’t even describe.
Learn how very small art projects can help you through very difficult times
This is a tiny, bite-sized invitation to experience the power art-making has to help you feel better.
During this practical, hands-on art workshop you will be introduced to the therapeutic benefits of having a creative hobby. The session will...
We know that the Camp Widow® program can be pretty jam packed. For this reason we have scheduled a very relaxed and unstructured ‘walk and talk’ in nearby beautiful Roma Street Parklands for those wanting to slow down or take some time out.
Reconnecting with orientation group - 9:30am - 10:30am
Presenter:Jodi Carpenter
Newly widowed: support during the first year of widowhood
Join Jodi and your newly widowed community to check in and discuss the weekend’s program from the view of those widowed less than a year. We will also provide information on how to stay connected to your widowed community through First Light’s programs.
Recently widowed: tools and tips for healing for those widowed one to three years
Join Kate, and your recently widowed community to check in and discuss the weekend’s program from the point of view of those widowed one to three years. We will also provide information on how to stay connected to your widowed community through First Light’s programs.
Middle widowed: hope and healing for those widowed three to five years
Join Lauren and your middle widowed community to check in and discuss the weekend’s program and to reconnect around the joys and challenges of being widowed three to five years. We will also provide information on how to stay connected to your widowed community through...
Seasoned widowed: community building for those widowed five years and more
Join Carren and your seasoned widowed community to check in and discuss the weekend’s program and to reconnect around the joys and challenges of being widowed five years or longer. We will also be providing information on how to stay connected...
