Meet the Team & Tour the Facility
Meet the Ocala Team
Planning a trip to Ocala Conservation Center or getting ready for an exciting week of summer camp? Meet the team ahead of time!
Jarred Johnson
director
Jarred is a fourth-generation Floridian who has developed a passion for the outdoors by hunting and fishing throughout the state. He is a certified Hunter Safety instructor, teaching the program and getting new people involved in the outdoors. After graduation from the University of Alabama he began work with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) as a Hunter Safety Coordinator; he currently serves as the Director at the Ocala Conservation Center helping kids and young adults find their passion for the real Florida. Jarred is a proud father of two children and enjoys spending time with his family in the outdoors.
Joshua Suzuki
hunter safety coordinator
Joshua is a Florida native growing up in Ocala and graduating from the University of Florida. Prior to joining FWC, Josh worked at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Joshua serves as the Hunter Safety Coordinator for the Northeast region of the state operating out of the Ocala Conservation Center. Joshua looks forward to taking the boat out and spending time with his wife and son.
JEFF MARR
maintenance technician
Since 1964, Jeff has been an Ocala Conservation Center camper, counselor, instructor, volunteer, and staff member! Born in Lakeland and educated at the University of Florida, Jeff is a true expert in all things centra Florida terrain, wildlife, habitats, and conservation. His favorite summer camp activity is the infamous Swamp Hike, more affectionately known as “Mud Hike.”
MARK CLERE
waterfront director
Mark Clere (aka “Mr. Mark”) has been the Waterfront Director at Ocala Outdoor Adventure Camp since 2012. He oversees swimming, canoeing, kayaking, paddling, and fishing activities. He loves to see the campers (and even the staff) challenge themselves to learn new skills and have fun at the same time.
Send us an email at occ@myfwc.com with the subject line "volunteer at OCC"
Take a Photo Tour of the Ocala Facility
The Ocala Conservation Center is on a 57-acre peninsula, rich in history and wildlife, in north Central Florida. It is 20 miles east of Ocala, on Lake Eaton, in the heart of the Ocala National Forest. The facilities are rustic, yet comfortable, with air-conditioned cabins and dining hall. Outdoor classrooms are fishing piers, shooting ranges, nature trails, Lake Eaton and the vast Ocala National Forest.
The Center has offered action-packed summer adventures for more than 50 years. Every year, the camp’s programs provide hundreds of campers the necessary skills and knowledge to become better sportsmen and women, while instilling an awareness of firearm safety and wildlife stewardship. Boys and girls, ages 8 to 17, attend one-week camp sessions, running from Sunday through Friday.
In addition to the summer camp, the Ocala center also provides for diverse public use, which have included frequent hunter safety courses, bow hunting courses, firearms familiarization courses, youth hunter education challenge (advanced hunter safety), boy and girl scout groups, 4H competitive shooting groups, Becoming an Outdoors Woman programs, National Wild Turkey Federation’s Women in the Outdoors program, Traditional Bow Hunters of Florida annual shoots, Safari Club programs, and Marion County school programs.
Help keep Ocala Conservation Center accessible for both humans and wildlife! The Ocala National Forest is an important habitat for many types of wildlife and is visited by thousands of people each year. Please remember that all plant and animal life at OCC are protected, and that visitors may not pick plants, create new trails through the vegetation, or chase or harass wildlife.
Ocala Conservation Center
7325 NE 170th Avenue | Silver Springs, FL 34488
352-625-2804 | occ@myfwc.com
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