Along the coast of Maine, general stores host the hustle and bustle in these otherwise tranquil communities. While some are closing their doors permanently, there are many others that are finding ways to not only survive but really thrive!

I went to Wisconsin to learn about island communities in the Great Lakes. I didn’t expect to find so many reminders of Maine, but the connections sprang up in every conversation.

On this sunny afternoon in November, we found ourselves driving into Winter Harbor with a map in one hand and pocket book in the other, ready to see the local sites and inject some of our own money into the local economy.

For this year’s fall field trip, the Outer Islands TLC headed inland to the foothills of the White Mountains! This adventure brought us to the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School campus in Newry, Maine.

After a year and half, I've come to learn what islanders already knew: broadband is the high-speed, reliable internet that is essential for economic sustainability. I had the pleasure of hearing from Maine’s islands about their progress at the Broadband Summit.

I teamed up with Green Fire Productions, a nonprofit video production company, to film classroom footage of John Van Dis of Edna Drinkwater School and Marci Train of Long Island School for the newest Ocean Frontiers documentary.

Last winter and spring, Figures of Speech Theatre worked with outer islands schools to produce a film. And it's probably not like any film you've seen before.

People driving down Route 1 on Sunday smelled wild salmon from the northern reaches of the Pacific hitting the grill a stone’s throw from the Atlantic. Those smart enough to follow their noses were greeted by sustainable salmon from Alaska and seaweed salad from Maine.

What kind of school gets kids to build their own racecar? How about asking students to carry their trash around for a week? Or compare themselves to a favorite vegetable?