The Black Summer bushfires drove Elliott Dooley to work on the survival of native species like wallabies.
He recalled the smoke haze over Newcastle in late 2019 "getting thicker to the point that you could hardly see a few streets ahead".
As the smoke pollution continued into the new year, his frustration grew over a lack of state and federal leadership and action on bushfire preparation, climate change and Australia's extinction crisis.
"I felt a strong urge to put myself in a position where I could do the best to help prevent the sheer loss of wildlife caused by the fires from happening again," Mr Dooley said.
He's now a PhD researcher on Professor Matthew Hayward's team at University of Newcastle, examining how threatened macropods survive catastrophic fire.
"If I can play any part in preventing another native Australian species from going extinct, it would mean the world to me," Mr Dooley said.
He believes a greater focus must be placed on "designing and maintaining wildlife corridors" to help species survive.
Corridors help wild animals to survive and recover from disasters.
"They connect areas of habitat, providing animals with safe routes along which they can flee from hazards as well as seek food, water and shelter from predators in damaged landscapes," Mr Dooley said.
"We need to urge politicians to value the most Australian thing on this continent - our biodiversity.
"They are the ones who will ultimately determine whether our threatened species survive or go extinct."
He urged people to think at election time where their tax is being spent and question whether governments were "pledging enough funding and jobs for our public services", such as fire, rescue, national parks and wildlife services.
He said residents can take their own action to help the wildlife cause.
"Pet owners can help by making sure their pets are desexed and that cats especially are kept indoors," he said.
He said wandering cats kill birds, reptiles and mammals, many of which were small macropods.
