Horse Farms Forever, Inc.® is pleased to announce Mark Emery, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, musician, and photographer for National Geographic, the Smithsonian Network, BBC, and PBS as our Keynote Speaker at the 2024 Conservation Summit to be held on Thursday, November 14, 5-7 pm at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Arena. Renowned artist of the springs Margaret Ross Tolbert and scientist Jason Gulley will also join us.

Mark’s stunning photography and videos of the springs will help create more awareness about how important Marion County’s springs are to ensuring clean drinking water for residents and visitors.

Learn More About Mark

• Join us!
• November 14th, 5-7pm with book and poster signings at 4pm.
• Tickets are $45 and include auditorium seating, light fare and beverages. Doors open at 4pm.
• At Ocala Breeder’s Sales with ample free parking.

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Mark Emery will sign prints of his photographs. Margaret Ross Tolbert will sign posters of her paintings. Prints and posters will be available for purchase at the event. The pre-event starts at 4:00 PM and will be held at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Arena

Inspiring Art

The springs have inspired artists for centuries. We welcome special guest speaker Margaret Ross Tolbert, internationally renowned artist of the springs and author of AQUIFERious. Tolbert’s Water’s Margins exhibit was recently featured at the Appleton Museum of Art. From large-scale paintings to more intimate works created underwater on pieces of slate, Tolbert uses an array of kaleidoscopic blues and earth tones to express her passion for and understanding of these unique subaquatic environments.

Learn More about Margaret

Springs Forever Art Contest

To help nurture and encourage the next generation, Horse Farms Forever is sponsoring a poster and essay contest for all K-12 students in partnership with the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District. The winners will be presented with ribbons and gift certificates at the Summit. We will display the art and essays online and at the event.

Enlightening Science

Also joining us will be Jason Gulley, PhD, professor of Geology at the University of South Florida, photographer and National Geographic Explorer. Jason’s research and photography career have taken him on expeditions to all seven continents, from underwater caves in Florida, the Caribbean and Africa as well as to glaciers in Alaska, the Arctic and the Mt Everest region of Nepal.

He has a PhD in geology from the University of Florida (2010) and is a technical diving and rebreather instructor. Jason’s research emphasizes the human impacts on the environment, cave systems, the Aquifer, and especially Florida’s springs.

Learn More About Jason

Our Farmland Protects the Springs

• Florida is home to more than 1,000 artesian springs that are dependent on groundwater from the Floridan Aquifer System.
• There are three First Magnitude Springs in Marion County and together, these springs discharge over 1 billion gallons of water per day: Silver Glen Springs, Rainbow Springs, and Silver Springs, which is the largest artesian spring in the world.
• The Springs Protection Zones for Rainbow Springs and Silver Springs are located within the 193,000-acre Farmland Preservation Area, which was designated in 2005 by Marion County to protect the rare agricultural soils and springsheds in the area. You can see the springsheds on the above map as the yellow shaded areas. The red line is the boundary of the Farmland Preservation Area.
• HFF is raising awareness about the importance of the Springs Protection Zones in the Farmland Preservation Area to help protect the recharge areas for the Floridan Aquifer. The aquifer is referred to as “the lifeblood of the springs” and is the source of much of Florida’s drinking water.

Get Your Tickets Here

Questions? Email Busy Shires, Horse Farms Forever Director of Conservation Strategies or call (386) 853-4437.