Naomi Huynh

Growing up in Sydney and being a city slicker, I never had much exposure to nature in my daily life. I had to wait till my parents had time off work so they could take me to local and national parks around Sydney to really experience the wilderness. When a day trip away from home wasn’t always possible, my parents would let me watch documentaries (usually David Attenborough narrated series) kick-starting my passion with science.

My love for natural science continued through my adulthood, where I completed my degree in Ecology and Biological Sciences. Whilst still in university, I was picked up by the Australian Museum in 2016 to work in Search & Discover where I primarily answered enquiries from the public asking for identifications on a range of animals based on photographs, videos and sound recordings. Joining the FrogID team in 2020, I am to continue my services and home in on my amphibian identification skills for such a great citizen science project that has huge conservation implications.

Now with greater freedom as an adult compared to when I was a child, I am able travel around Australia with friends searching and recording frog calls for the FrogID app. I try to find and photograph as many frogs (and other animals) as possible and tick them off in my field guides. When the season is right, I would raise tadpoles and show them off to kids, teaching them about their unique life cycles and other great adaptions they have. Fun fact: I am in some of the promotional videos for FrogID. See if you can spot me!