Ben Montville’s photo of ducks at Round Lake won a local watershed district’s 2025 photo contest and is featured on its free 2026 calendar. Photo courtesy of the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District
The Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District (RPBCWD) is offering free 2026 wall calendars featuring photographs submitted by local residents to the RPBCWD annual photo contest. The goal of the contest is to showcase photos featuring lakes, streams, parks, wildlife, plants, recreation, or other outdoor inspiration within the boundaries of the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District.
The 2025 winning photograph by Ben Montville features waterfowl at Round Lake. Additional winning photographs from the 2025 contest are visible on the RPBCWD website.
Calendars are available at the following locations throughout the RPBCWD district while supplies last:
Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District Office, 18681 Lake Drive East, Chanhassen
Eden Prairie Library, 565 Prairie Center Drive
Eden Prairie City Center, 8080 Mitchell Road
Bloomington Civic Plaza, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington
Chanhassen Library, 7711 Kerber Blvd., Chanhassen
Chaska Library, 3 City Hall Plaza, Chaska
Excelsior Library, 337 Water St., Excelsior
Minnetonka Library, 17524 Excelsior Blvd., Minnetonka
Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka
To celebrate the new calendar release, RPBCWD is also opening submissions early for the 2026 photo contest. Local residents are invited to share their favorite photos they’ve captured of the waters, wildlife, plants and seasonal scenes within the Bluff Creek, Riley Creek, and Purgatory Creek watersheds. The boundaries for eligible photo locations are available at this link.
Winning photos will be featured in the 2027 calendar. A $50 prize will be awarded to the cover image winner, and $20 prizes will be awarded to the 12 monthly featured images.
Submissions are due by Sept. 30, 2026, and will be judged by RPBCWD staff and its Citizen Advisory Committee. Contest rules and information on submission can be found at www.rpbcwd.org/photo-contest.