Chronicling A Town's Rebirth -- In Green

After a mammoth tornado, an F5 -- the most intense kind -- destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, Kan. on May 4, 2007, killing 11 people, almost half of the tiny town's resident left.

But the rest moved into a park of FEMA trailers and began the process of rebuilding. They're determined to persevere, let nothing stand in their way, and have sheer will come to the forefront.

They're also rebuilding -- green -- and could serve as inspiration for many parts of the country currently suffering from the wrath of Mother Nature.

The Early Show did a weeklong series of shows from there as the first anniversary of the twister's strike neared.

This weekend the Planet Green network is premiering a multi-part docu-series simply called "Greensburg."

Homeowners are using new, sustainable lumber and reusing older bricks, while designing buildings that rely solely on the sun and wind for energy, points out Early Show weather anchor and features reporter Dave Price.

"This is the biggest green movement on the planet right now, right here," says "Greensburg" Executive Producer Craig Piligian, "because, if this town gets rebuilt green, it will be the first community in the country and the world like it. ... and we can't fail."

Piligian is one of the country's most successful TV producers. And, while "Survivor" may have been one of his most popular projects, Piligian calls "Greensburg" his most important.

"My wife is from a town 90 miles away from here," Piligian explains. "We were here celebrating my mother-in-law's 70th birthday the weekend the tornado hit."

When Greensburg decided to become the nation's first green town, Piligian dispatched a production team to document the entire process.

"The bad guy here was the weather, and the elements," Piligian says. "It's sort of like 'The Grapes of Wrath.' I mean, it's truly the American struggle. You're going to watch this city, which was completely flattened, and they're going to rebuild their lives, post-by-post, pillar-by-pillar. And it's a metaphor for how we built this country, and they want to see it happen. People want to see a good story."