COVER STORY | Marvelous Mom of Many: Lara Heckelsberg Gawrych of Yorkville
- Glancer Magazine
- May 4, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 7, 2022
LOCAL MOM GIVES THE GIFT OF MOTHER NATURE
YORKVILLE–Lara has been loving on the soil from Carbondale to California to Washington to New Zealand and finally back to her roots in Yorkville.
Growing up, Lara always had a large garden and her parents strived to provide natural, homegrown, made from scratch meals, whenever possible. Since she met her husband while they were both working on an organic farm in Olympia, Washington, it had been their dream to own and live on their very own organic farm.
In 2010, they started Sol Gardens on acreage at a family friend's farm that had been previously planted in native species through a conservation easement, so they were able to get their USDA Organic Certification right away. Then in 2013, they purchased their own 20-acre homestead and have been able to expand from vegetables into animals, fruit, and their own small batch Sol Gardens CBD oil.
As with any business venture, there were large start-up costs, so the balance is that Lara also works off the farm as a Realtor while her husband is full time on the land. This year you can find them at the Batavia Farmers Market on Saturdays between 8am and Noon starting in June.
Lara wears many hats. In addition to being a full-time Realtor, she is also chief consultant on all things Sol, child wrangler, schedule keeper, tree hugger, critter collector, reality checker, chicken transporter, late night dancer, and forever a dreamer.
Her three children also live a healthy lifestyle. Growing up on 20 acres provides plenty of opportunity for Rowan (12), Oliver (10), and Zuri (8) to stay physically active beyond their individual loves of skiing, soccer, and making music. The family also takes full advantage of exploring nearby state and local parks, as well as the Fox River valley.
Although challenging with all the extracurricular activities, full time jobs and working the farm, Lara relishes in the opportunity of family dinners and enjoying the fruits of their labor.
They all agree that nothing compares to the flavors that come in vine ripened, heritage breed tomatoes – sliced raw with a dash of salt, fresh basil leaf, slice of fresh mozzarella then drizzled with good olive oil. Once the tomatoes come into season, they will have dinner after dinner of just plates of tomatoes, maybe with a chunk of bread from the farmer’s market.
As a healthy active farmer mom of many, Amelia Earhart sums up Lara’s basic philosophy on life well, “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and
make new trees.”
