New Albany, BEEPS Foundation to memorialize Rebecca Eldemire with tree grove
Rebecca Eldemire was killed nine years ago at 21 years old in her apartment at Miami University, but family and friends are carrying on her legacy with sustainability projects.
Eldemire was killed in a murder-suicide by her ex-boyfriend, Larry E. Tipton, who she broke up with the night before. She would have turned 30 this year, so the Betterment for Environmental & Earth Protection Foundation, or BEEPS Foundation that honors her life, is donating $30,000 to the city of New Albany to create a tree grove close to where she grew up.
Eldemire was a 2012 graduate of New Albany High School.
The trees will be planted in New Albany’s new Taylor Farm Park that recently finished phase one of construction. That phase opened a long walking trail, wood boardwalks and playground. The city expects to plant the trees in the fall.
Adrienne Joly, director of administrative services for New Albany, said the city is planting local tree species chosen because they have good fall coloring. She said the tree grove will be placed in the center of the park and will only take up about 0.1-acres of the park’s nearly 100-acres.
A path will run through the trees with benches to sit and greet visitors with a plaque with a quote from Eldemire that BEEPS has used in other dedications to her, “Go outside no matter what and sit.”
Beeps was Eldemire’s nickname and the reason for the foundation’s name. Marlene Eldemire, Rebecca’s mother, said the family knew they had to do something to carry on Eldemire’s passion for environmentalism and quickly came up with the BEEPS Foundation.
Marlene said her daughter dreamed of becoming a veterinarian until middle school. One day, Rebecca ran off the bus and told her mom she didn't want to be a veterinarian anymore because she can help more animals if she works in sustainability.
“So, from that point on sustainability was her middle name,” Marlene said. “She seriously dedicated her too short life to it.”
The quote that will be featured at the grove came from one of her middle school teacher Sandra Reed’s lessons in environmental club, who Marlene credits with introducing Rebecca to sustainability. About every month, Reed would take the club out to sit spots, which were places students would sit and be still with nature.
Reed said the point of this practice is to notice the environment around you outside of the human world. She said when you sit and hold still everything returns to a baseline.
“Becca loved it; she got it,” Reed said “She had the patience, the ability to hold still and observe and the love of nature. Because of that, she got a lot out of it. She continued it throughout her life, and I think that it really enriched her connection with wildlife.”
Reed never lost contact with the family when Rebecca died and started working with BEEPS immediately after she heard about it. She suggested putting this dedication in Taylor Farm Park to Marlene when she heard she wanted to create something for Rebecca’s 30th birthday.
Marlene said it was perfect because the Eldemire family lived close to Taylor Farm Park. Rebecca used to go to the wetlands to look at the wildlife, which Marlene said helped foster her love for the outdoors. When Marlene heard of the opportunity at the park, she said, “it just seemed like something we had to do.”
“This project with New Albany means the world to us as her family,” Marlene said. “The way it all came to be, you almost feel like Becca orchestrated it.”
The foundation has planted two gardens at Miami University, where Rebecca was double-majoring in geography and geographic-information systems. It also finances improvements and donated books and sports equipment to school kids in a village in Tanzania Rebecca spent a summer volunteering at; sponsors internships at That Guy’s Farm in Clinton County and more.
There was also a Bench placed in a prairie garden outside the Easton E3 Learning Lab — where Reed serves as building coordinator — with the same quote used for the grove.
“It’s been a rough nine years,” Marlene said. “I can’t believe it’s going to be 10 years in February, that blows my mind. But the BEEPS Foundation and this project particularly has been so healing for our family.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Albany, BEEPS to memorialize Rebecca Eldemire with tree grove
