Volunteers hit the parks Wednesday to pick up poop to help protect water quality-- and they scooped up 328 pounds of hound mounds to keep dog doo out of your water.

The Magic Hat Brewing Company teamed up with the Lake Champlain Committee for the event dubbed "April Stools' Day."

Employees and volunteers scooped and bagged poop at parks and beaches in Burlington and South Burlington. Buckets, trash bags, gloves and hand sanitizer were all provided.

The Lake Champlain Committee says they do this every year before the spring rains have a chance to wash the doggy doo and bacteria into the lake.

"The reason we are doing this event-- it's sort of a fun spin on a serious issue and one that we can all do something about," said Lori Fisher of the Lake Champlain Committee.

"When the dog owners don't pick up the dog poop, that bacteria that's in them rushes into the lake. And since we get a lot of our water from Lake Champlain, we want to make sure we do our part to do it. It's a fun way to give back," said Monica McFarland of Magic Hat.

About 163 pounds of poop was found at Red Rocks Park, 72 pounds at Oakledge. Awards were given out for the biggest hauls.

Everyone got a free pint of beer from Magic Hat.