The 2011 Local Hero Nominees

Real people making a real difference: 25 worthy nominees for a 2011 Heart of Green Award.

Meet the By Dan Shapley

About the Local Hero Award

The Heart of Green Awards honor individuals, companies and organizations that have helped green go mainstream. In 2009 and 2010, The Daily Green celebrated its Heart of Green winners with an exclusive party; in 2011, we're taking the awards to the people. You will vote on your favorite winners, and we'll announce the results online. We're also broadening the categories to include a richer variety of people, places and things deserving of attention. The type of person deserving of our Local Hero award has not changed:

Who in your community deserves to be recognized? Is it the organizer of a local farmers' market ... or the local farmer herself? Maybe it's the shopkeeper who refuses to sell suspect plastics ... or the construction worker who donated his time to weatherize neighborhood homes. Is it the mayor who installed solar power panels on the town hall ... or the watchdog who held the mayor accountable for a bad decision? Maybe it's the person who organized a local rally, or rallied locals to go help clean up the Gulf after the oil spill.

Tell us, and the rest of The Daily Green audience, why your nominee deserves to be recognized with a Heart of Green Award. We'll recognize many of the nominees by publishing your accounts of their good deeds on The Daily Green. (Nomination guidelines are on the next page in this feature.)