Melissa Griffiths

“There’s a lot of research that shows that kids who are connected to the outdoors tend to be happier, healthier and do better in school,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Alaska Coordinator Steve Brockman explained. “A lot of kids today don’t have that connection with the outdoors.”

When you live in Alaska, where does your food come from? Where does your kid's school lunch come from? Ninety-five percent of the time, the answer is a barge. And some are hoping to change that.

An offshoot of a Southeast Alaska Native corporation and a conservation organization have partnered to fund a program that loans money to entrepreneurs and shareholders who can't get bank loans, with an eye on sustainability.

Edna Leamer, 81, has been a caregiver since the age of 14, when her mother died. As the oldest of five children, born in Billings Mont., she naturally took on the maternal role.