Watch more videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel »
On Sunday, December 2, nearly 100 people, ages 5-80, gathered for the 29th annual Anna Costa Tree Planting, which celebrates her birthday and serves as a living memorial to Anna who died tragically in a car accident in 1989, during her senior year at O’Dowd. Over the past 10 years, people from the O’Dowd community, together with Costa family members and friends, have donated and planted nearly all the trees in the Living Lab in memory of Anna and loved ones who have died. From the CES terrace, the group silently processed to the Anna Costa Memorial Redwood Circle, led by Anna’s 11-year-old nephew, Sam, ringing a meditation bell. After a ritual in the Circle, 30 trees were planted, adding to the 350 trees planted at the site and the 1,350 trees that have been planted over the 29-year period.
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25763 lazyload" src="https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/costa-girl.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/costa-girl.jpg 700w, https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/costa-girl-300x171.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /> O’Dowd student Cecilia Costa with her grandfather, Steve Costa, left.
<img class="size-full wp-image-25764 alignleft lazyload" src="https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iman.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="222" />“Planting trees each year gives new life to the earth, which has significantly helped us heal our grief,” Anna’s father Steve Costa said. “Through the Living Lab we are deeply grateful to celebrate Anna’s life each year and contribute to the life and learning of O’Dowd students each day for years to come.”
“As long as there is a need for trees at the Living Lab, what has become known as Anna’s Tree Tribe, will show up each December and dig, plant and celebrate the wonders of this sacred space,” he added.
The event also included the announcement of this year’s winner of the Anna Costa Memorial Scholarship – Iman Byndloss ’20.
Click photo thumbnail to view in slideshow THEN images can be right clicked and downloaded at 1024px wide by 768px.