After a successful inaugural run, the weekly Cedar Scenes Photo Contest has relaunched for the 2018 season as a way for the public to enjoy the outdoors and help showcase local waterways.

The Cedar River Watershed District started a new season of Cedar Scenes and will run it for nearly one month longer than in 2017, when it attracted more than 300 images from 59 people over 16 weeks.

Cedar Scenes will run weekly – photos submitted Monday to Sunday to count for a week – through Sept. 30 with a goal of getting people outdoors and taking photos showing the Cedar River State Water Trail or a tributary in the watershed district.

Runnings in Austin once again is sponsoring the kayak grand-prize giveaway that will be drawn in October.

To qualify, each photo entered during the season for Cedar Scenes will count as one entry for the kayak drawing. Weekly prizes will be about $10 in value, such as Chamber Bucks to use at local businesses, with the week’s winning photo picked by CRWD staff.

All photos entered for Cedar Scenes will be shared on CRWD’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cedarriverwd and can be used by CRWD for future public uses. Submitted images must be the person’s own photo or have been approved for submission by the photographer. Entries must include the submitter’s name, photo location and date. All ages can participate.

Photos for Cedar Scenes can be new or old but must showcase a water-related scene – with or without people – in the CRWD’s boundaries. Aside from the Cedar River – which includes Austin Mill Pond and Ramsey Mill Pond – other creeks within the CRWD’s boundaries include Dobbins (Jay C. Hormel Nature Center and East Side Lake), Wolf (stream at Todd Park), Roberts, Ramsey, Rose, Orchard and Woodbury creeks, among others. Turtle Creek is not included because it has a watershed district.

Last year, April Murphy, of Austin, was the winner of the Runnings kayak after submitting numerous photos mostly of fishing and kayaking on the Cedar River State Water Trail.

CRWD offered Cedar Scenes in 2017 as part of its 10-year anniversary as a watershed district.

“Cedar Scenes turned out to be a lot of fun and educational, “CRWD outreach coordinator Tim Ruzek said.  “We saw a lot of our watershed’s beauty and the creativity of local residents but also learned a great deal about how the waterways are being used and what people are finding in or along the water.”

Although the Cedar River was the biggest focal point in 2017, photos also featured other waterways, including Dobbins Creek; Wolf Creek; Orchard Creek; Murphy Creek; and Mud Creek. The most-popular areas were Ramsey Mill Pond; Austin Mill Pond; East Side Lake; the stretch of the Cedar upstream from Interstate 90; and the Lafayette Park area.

Photos can be submitted via CRWD’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/cedarriverwd – by posting on the page, tagging CRWD or sending it in a message. Images also can be emailed to tim.ruzek@mowerswcd.org or brought to the CRWD office at 1408 21st Ave. N.W. in Austin behind Runnings.

Weekly winners will be announced on CRWD’s Facebook page; with prizes picked up at the CRWD office.

The grand prize winner of the kayak will need to be age 18 and older or come with a parent or guardian to get the kayak.