FrogID: the Power of Community Engagement in Conservation

The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer invites you to the Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series

13 August 2025

Special National Science Week Event

Dr Jodi Rowley, Australian Museum and UNSW Sydney

presents

FrogID: the Power of Community Engagement in Conservation

The scale of the planet’s biodiversity crisis demands a collective response, and one way science is tackling this enormous challenge is through engagement with the public.

FrogID is the Australian Museum’s flagship citizen science project. Participants download an app onto their smartphone which they then use to record frog calls.

The project is a striking demonstration of the power of community engagement in conservation. In less than seven years, the FrogID app has revolutionised science’s understanding of Australian frogs. Tens of thousands of people have now participated, registering over 1.3 million frog recordings. This makes FrogID the largest database of frog records for any country.

Dr Jodi Rowley is curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum, and FrogID’s Lead Scientist. In this seminar, Jodi will explain how FrogID’s occurrence records and audio recordings have helped uncover the true diversity and distributions of Australia’s frogs, as well as the impact of threats such as fires, drought, climate change and habitat modification.

Join Jodi when she presents:

FrogID: the Power of Community Engagement in Conservation

About the Speaker

Dr Jodi Rowley

Dr Jodi Rowley

Dr Jodi Rowley is the Curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum and a Conjoint Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney.

Jodi’s research focuses on documenting amphibian diversity, understanding and mitigating the drivers of amphibian declines, and supporting evidence-based conservation.

She has led dozens of expeditions across Australasia in search of amphibians, and has co-discovered 40 frog species new to science.

Jodi serves as Co-Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Amphibian Red List Authority for Australia and is deeply committed to science communication.

Jodi is a National Geographic Explorer and a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW. She was named one of ‘100 Inspiring Australians’ by Qantas in 2020, and a Field Leader in Zoology by The Australian’s Research Magazine in 2023, the same year she was awarded the Premier’s Prize for Science & Engineering for Innovation in NSW Public Sector Science & Engineering.

Jodi has one snake and two frog species from Southeast Asia named in her honour.

BREAKFAST SEMINAR

The Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series is held at the Strangers’ Function Room at Parliament of NSW, Sydney.

Where: Parliament of NSW. Entry is via Macquarie Street, Sydney. Guests are required to undergo routine security screening.

Time: Breakfast, tea and coffee are served from 7.30am.

The seminar starts at 8am sharp and concludes by 9am. Tea and coffee is also available afterwards.

RSVP: Monday 11 August 2025

IMPORTANT BOOKING INFORMATION
When making multiple bookings, please include the names of all who are attending, to ensure they have a nametag on the day.

For further information email events.rsvp@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au  or call (02) 9228 5762