After losing a classmate last year, the Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School student council felt they needed to do something.

They came up with the memorial tree project to remember students, faculty and alumni that have passed away.

“We realize how awful it can be to lose a classmate or a friend or even a parent or teacher,” Liz Catalano, a senior and the president of student council, said. “We wanted this tree to be a place where students can go when they want to be alone or when they want to be with somebody else to talk about it.”

One of the student courtyards will be transformed to include the tree. It will be a place for healing and reflection, giving students a place to support one another when tragedy strikes.

“If you don’t want to go to the guidance office, but you just want a place to sit and be calm during your study hall, you have a place to meditate and congregate with other people to remember what has happened and respect it,” Larry Claar, a junior and a member of student council, said.

It’s a peaceful healing place for those grieving. It’s also a unique way to honor lives taken too soon.

“There has just been a lot of pain and we just wanted to help give students a way to deal with that,” Catalano said.

If weather permits, the tree will be planted on Monday, April 23. There’s going to be an opening ceremony Friday, April 27.