BROOKFIELD, Mass. - On Saturday, a one-of-a-kind event brought poker to Quaboag Pond in an effort to raise money for local conservation projects.  

Dozens of kayakers gathered for the ninth annual Paddle Poker Run. Organized by the Quaboag Quacumquasit Lake Association (QQLA), it’s not quite a race, and it’s not exactly a game of poker either. 

“Well, this is done a lot for people on motorcycles, where you have a map and you have a route that goes up and down over the hills and you stop at different stations to you pick a playing card," said QQLA's Randy Weiss. "When you get back to the headquarters, you compare cards, and whoever has the best hand will win a prize. Since we’re a lake association, we thought we’d do it in our kayaks.”

The 3.5-mile course brought kayakers to four different stations across Quaboag Pond. Don Taft passed out cards at the southernmost station, and said this year’s kayakers lucked out with a shorter course. 

“It’s wonderful, particularly when the flow barrier is open and people can go from one lake into the other and back again," Taft said. "Of course, it makes the course a little bit longer, so some people prefer the shorter course. It’s great to see everybody involved on a beautiful day like today, having fun, getting out and enjoying nature.”

The entry fee was $20 per hand, which will go toward QQLA's efforts to treat phosphorous-rich sediment at the bottom of the pond. Phosphorous that doesn’t get taken into the grass can eventually work its way into ponds and rivers, causing algae to cover the surface and preventing plants on the pond floor from getting the sunlight they need. This in turn can change the entire ecosystem of a pond, which is what QQLA is trying to prevent.

Weiss said it's a group effort that's enjoyed success because of a passionate community. 

"These are treehuggers, these are people who cared about the environment before they came to live at the lake, otherwise they wouldn’t have chosen to live at the lake," Weiss said. "The result is that generally, everybody who lives along the lake is on the side of making the environment a better place, especially the environment we share.”

A $250 cash prize was awarded for the winning hand, and there was also a prize for the kayaker who ended up with the worst hand.