Environmental Heroes profiles three North Carolinians who have made extraordinary efforts to improve the environment. The stories show that, through support from family, friends and community, individuals can make a difference in shaping a better world.

Those profiled are:

• Dean Brooks, a resident of Goldston, North Carolina, who for more than 20 years has turned thousands of tons of biodegradable waste a year into compost.
• Gary Grant, a community activist from Tillery, North Carolina, who has worked for the last two decades to help African-American farmers and to keep large-scale hog farms out of rural Halifax County.
• Todd Miller, founder of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, who has spent the last 28 years protecting the state's waterways and shorelines.

The program is hosted by Dr. Tom Linden, professor at the University of North Carolina and director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Medical and Science Journalism Program.

Dr. Linden is a former medical and environmental reporter for CNBC, KRON-TV in San Francisco and Fox-11 News in Los Angeles. The documentary was written and produced by students in Dr. Linden's Science Television Documentary class at UNC-Chapel Hill.