Name: Diane Abraham
School: Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy
Subject: English / Language Arts
Grade: 7th
Island: Hawai‘i
“As W.S. Merwin’s writing tells us, man’s separation from nature bears disastrous consequences for both the human race and the world. My vision therefore, for the future, would be to build a sense of urgency in the minds of students: urgency to restore our islands to their natural state, to become more greatly attuned to the need to be responsible environmental citizens on a local and global scale.”
After teaching English/Language Arts on Moloka‘i for many years, Diane now teaches at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy on Hawai‘i Island. She has a deep love of the natural world which she seeks to impart to her students through such projects as annual beach clean-ups; land restoration projects in Hawai‘i rain forest; and ancient fishpond restoration. While teaching in Morocco for a semester, she encouraged her students there to creatively petition the headmaster for a plot of unused land on school property, for the purpose of creating a vegetable garden. This was a success, and as a result the garden provided produce for the local community. Diane has a B.A. from University of Hawaii at Manoa, a Masters of Education from University of California, Irvine, and a law degree from Southwestern University School of Law.