ORC recently recruited Namibian researcher Frowin Becker as Scientist and Liaison Officer. Frowin is an avian ecologist with an eclectic set of interests. He recently completed his Ph.D. (Conservation Biology) through the Victoria University of Wellington/Te Herenga Waka, for which he combined acoustic monitoring and avian ecology to describe wider ecological processes.

As a scientist at ORC, Frowin will continue exploring this, by linking bird community responses to land-use types in the region, while offering support in other arenas as well. As Liaison Officer, he will be tasked with bringing ORC’s research closer to Ongava Game Reserve’s visitors. While Frowin has spent the majority of his research career focussing on Namibia’s neighbouring countries, he considers this an opportunity to apply himself back home and contribute meaningfully to Namibia’s research landscape – an aspiration that has only intensified over the course of his scientific training.