Ecorazzi

Back in 2006, Leonardo DiCaprio had an idea to take a town somewhere in the U.S. and rebuild it using sustainable designs and green technology. Then came the destructive F5 tornado in May of 2007 that leveled the Kansas town of Greensburg. Suddenly, an opportunity arose to take DiCaprio’s idea and apply it — all the while documenting the process for Discovery Channel’s Planet Green network.

Two years later, all that work is paying off — and the people of Greensburg are suddenly finding themselves with a burgeoning tourist industry. Some of the locals that appeared on the television show even have a fan base. From The Hutchinson News,

The idea started through the nonprofit, said Daniel Wallach, executive director of Greensburg GreenTown. The goal is to provide educational tours of the town’s rebuilding effort — such as new residential, commercial and civic buildings. The group has been giving informal tours since early June and has already given 33 tours for 191 people, he said. He hopes those partaking in a tour will take back some of the ideas to their own communities. “This is a showcase of how to build sustainable and live greener,” he said on a recent trip across town to a few of the tour sites.

So far, the town has received visitors from people as far away as Australia and England. Those interested can take either a one or two hour guided tour at a cost of $5 per person. The town has also printed up some booklets for those that want the self-guided option. For more information, check out the official tour site here.