A Legacy of Life and Land Preserved

Libbie Aavang ensures family farm and natural fen will remain for generations

Libbie B. Aavang was born in 1933, and has lived in Greenwood Township her whole life. Her family farm was founded by her great-grandfather, John Barber, in 1849, and Libbie is the fifth generation to live on it. She and her husband, Rodney, moved onto the farm in 2007 upon the death of Libbie’s mother. While growing up on the farm, Libbie and her sister helped their dad milk cows, tend the horses and chickens, and when time allowed, took the neighborhood kids on horse-and-buggy rides.

Libbie recalls the construction process and purpose for each of the numerous farm buildings, including how one barn, formerly a blacksmith shop, was moved to the property from Greenwood Road. She eventually restored these barns with classic red siding, but to step into them is to step back in time. The milk house, the horse stalls, and the old mill, all contain their original tools and trappings.

In 1990, Libbie preserved 17 acres along the Nippersink Creek, initiating the protection of Barber Fen Nature Preserve. McHenry County Conservation District (MCCD) dedicated another 69 acres to the preserve in 2013. Earlier this year, Libbie along with her daughter, Sarah Aavang, approached TLC and John Nelson of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC) with a beautiful idea for preserving more of their land, an additional 123 acres, while staying true to the mosaic of the property. After completing these preservation projects, Libbie says she’s pleased that the farm will remain in agriculture, thanks to the easement with TLC.

Libbie wanted to preserve the rural character of her place, maintaining the historic farmstead and ensuring that her prime agricultural soils could be farmed in the future (and not developed).

Intertwined with the vision of preserving a viable farm, is also the deep ethic of care for the natural beauty that surrounds their farm. Viewing this landscape as a piece of an interconnected puzzle, TLC worked with Libbie to draft an agricultural conservation easement on the crop and hayfields, as well as the farmstead, totaling 80 acres. Meanwhile, INPC accepted another 19 acres as protected and buffer lands to the Barber Fen Nature Preserve. The management plan for the easement reflects the nature of its connectedness with the neighboring protected Barber Fen, recognizing the importance of soil and water conservation. The family, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and TLC worked together to bring this dream to fruition, preserving land for life.

Interested in Greenwood Township farms and Greenwood Village history? Libbie and her friend, Norine Mathey, wrote two books about the area: Old Homes Across Our Prairie and The Greenwood Book, which are available through McHenry Historical Society.

Would you like to see more land preserved for life in McHenry County? Show your support by becoming a member of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County today!