The 2011 National Commuter Challenge Week is June 5 to 11. The City of Nelson had the best participation in Canada last year, and for 2011, the West Kootenay EcoSociety is expanding the challenge throughout the Kootenays.

With grants from Columbia Basin Trust and Osprey Community Foundation, the Nelson-based environmental non-profit is throwing down the gauntlet to commuters all across the basin.

The Commuter Challenge is a national program that encourages Canadians to walk, cycle, ride-share, carpool, tele-work or take transit instead of driving alone to work.

The Commuter Challenge is based on friendly competition between communities across Canada to see which has the highest percentage of participation rates per capita during the week.

The Challenge encourages Canadians to choose greener commuting for the sake of their own personal health, the health and safety of the community, and in order to mitigate the negative climate change and air quality impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Everyone is invited to sign up with their workplace or as individuals and participate in the Challenge for the right to be the greenest commuting town in Canada.

“Last year Nelson came first throughout all of Canada for towns in the 5,000-10,000 size category, and this year we want all the towns in the West Kootenay to have that kind of participation,” said John Alton of the West Kootenay EcoSociety.

To get involved, each workplace or individual can register on the commuterchallenge.ca website. Employees or volunteers can then register under their workplace name and log their commuting results during the Commuter Challenge week. Registrations and results will be accepted up until June 11.

For more information contact John or Vincent at the EcoSociety at 250-354-1909 or via email at vincent@ecosociety.ca.