A vibrant community energized by a connection to nature that enriches lives and inspires all to preserve and protect our natural world, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is transforming daily and is dedicated to consistently improving. We are one of the few institutions with a dedicated Animal Wellbeing team who are dedicated to ensuring our animals have the opportunity to thrive. Our Manatee Critical Care Center is one of five critical care centers in the state who rescue and rehabilitate Florida’s manatees with a mission of a subsequent release. With our award-winning exhibits, Land of the Tiger, Primate Forest, and Range of the Jaguar, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is a world-class institution and family-based conservation adventure. Whether you are a visitor to Florida’s First Coast or a lifetime resident, we invite you to connect with wildlife and nature while making lasting memories with family and friends as we are on a mission to connect communities to wildlife and wild places.
Associates:
Sharon Spencer (she/her/hers)
Sharon Spencer is the Adult Education Specialist at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, as well as a facilitator and advisor in the Advanced Inquiry Program/Project Dragonfly, JZG’s onsite graduate program with Miami University in Ohio. Sharon holds a master’s degree from the Global Field Studies program at Miami focusing on empathy as an education strategy and is now pursuing her EdD at Antioch University in Humane Education. Her work continues to focus on emotional connections between people and all living things examining anthropocentric feminism and multi cultural humane education. Sharon also serves on the manatee rescue team at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.