The Taunton River Watershed Alliance is sponsoring a digital photography contest for its 2015 annual tide calendar. The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers, with a watershed-wide call for shots showcasing our area’s natural and seasonal beauty.A watershed is “a geographic area in which every drop of rain flows toward a river on its way to the sea.” Essentially, it is like a rain-catching bowl that then pours out into the ocean.The Taunton River Watershed consists of 43 communities in southeastern Massachusetts, and since 1988 the Taunton River Watershed Alliance has sought to “restore and properly manage water and related natural resources within the Taunton River Watershed.”Over the years, the TRWA has mobilized watershed residents to appreciate and do their best to protect and preserve the watershed through fun activities like canoe races and educational exercises such as shoreline surveys and river cleanups.Another source of community-wide engagement is the TRWA’s annual tide calendar.Jennifer O’Keefe, a member of the TRWA for10 years, proposed the idea in 2011 after being inspired by a similar project put out by another Massachusetts watershed alliance.“Many people do not equate ‘scenic’ with the Taunton River,” O’Keefe acknowledged, though she and other like-minded members of the community are working diligently to change that misconception.Its first year the TRWA received 40 photos for the calendar, 35 of which made the cut, and interest has only grown since then. For 2015, it has already received 200 images, and organizers are hoping to get many more.O’Keefe is an editor for the calendar, and “what I find exciting about coordinating [it] is working with the photographers who have a shared love for showing off the beauty of the watershed.”As an editor, O’Keefe is normally concerned with getting enough seasonal shots for the calendar, but this year she’s also hoping for something special:“For 2015, we’re hoping to see some shots of the not-so-resident wildlife that’s been in the news: the snowy owls or even the beluga whale that visited the lower Taunton River early this summer.”Photographers from any of the Taunton River Watershed communities are welcome to participate, whether they be young or old, amateur or professional. The deadline for the 2015 calendar contest is July 15.“If you would like to submit an image, we are looking for area digital photographs taken within the Taunton River watershed of wild life, scenery, agriculture, evidence of the area’s archeological heritage, or recreational activities on the river. Photographs must be taken within the last five years and must be the sole property of the submitting party.”Page 2 of 2 – Since this will be the TRWA’s fifth annual tide calendar, they are organizing a special celebration:“The TRWA will be hosting a special retrospective exhibition with the Taunton Art Association at their Williams Street gallery Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Five years of winning calendar photography will be on display, including this year’s yet to be announced winners.”For further submission information, guidelines, and a complete list of watershed communities, visit http://savethetaunton.org/programs/calendar_contest.html or call the Taunton River Watershed Alliance at 508-828-1101.