Meet Sydney Haney

NRC Clean Up Coordinator

Sydney used to flip over rocks at the creek’s edge when she got tired of the fish not biting and was a little bit freaked out by the things that lived underneath. That was twenty-some years ago. Since then, she has become fascinated with all the creatures in and above the water and is dedicated to protecting and conserving natural habitat for the sake of both wildlife and humankind alike.

Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, Sydney relocated to the New River Valley six years ago to study at Virginia Tech and hasn’t found a reason to leave. She took a gap year during her studies to become a wildland firefighter with AmeriCorps NCCC, where she led a crew on both wild and prescribed fires in California and across the southeastern US. An avid lover of salamanders and their relatives, she co-founded the Herpetology club at Virginia Tech and often tiptoeing through the woods with a headlamp on rainy nights looking for interesting reptiles and amphibians.

Sydney also worked at the Entrekin Aquatic Entomology Lab where she conducted research on benthic macroinvertebrates to help understand and protect their unique spring habitats. Currently, when she isn’t floating the New and its tributaries, she spends her days restoring riparian buffers as a wildlife habitat manager for Watershed Restoration Solutions, LLC.

As a conservation photographer, she received grant funding for her project designed to bring attention to Virginia’s endangered, rare, and endemic species and bridge the gap between the public and scientists in order to promote collaborative conservation. Her love for wildlife and dedication to conservation take many forms, from river cleanups to laying siege to autumn olives with her chainsaw, skirting cliffs in abandoned mines to photograph endangered bats, and rescuing giant stoneflies from those who aren’t quite ready yet to love those critters under rocks quite as much as she does – and hoping she can someday change their minds.

 

B.S. in Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech​