Volunteers compete in the quest to clean up cycle and pathways and encourage wildlife havens to flourish

As a fresh incumbent of contestants battle it out in the tent to showcase their culinary creations, a different squad are gathering together to showcase their green-fingered skills.

Unlike the bakers who are fathoming out technical recipes in a highly pressurised environment, this gang of green-fingered individuals are gathering along footpaths as they prepare to put their green fingered expertise into sprucing up our outdoor spaces as part of The Great British Rake Off.

Run by the charity, Sustrans, a UK sustainable transport charity whose flagship project is the National Cycle Network which has created more than 14,000 miles of signed cycle routes throughout the UK, the aim of the initiative is to help make cycle routes more wildlife-friendly.

In Manchester, Birmingham, Cumbria and Yorkshire, teams of people compete to rake the most area of cut grass along cycle routes. Participants could also get involved in games such as spotting nature, simply wildlife surveys and 'biodiversity bingo.'

The Great British Rake Off coincides with the National Cycle Network's 20th anniversary and brings the very British pastime of raking into the public eye.

Sustrans ecologist Bernie Higgins said: “We’ve brought a very British tradition out of the kitchen and onto our cycle paths! The Great British Rake off was a great chance to get competitive with your rake, win prizes and do some good for nature in the process.”

Traffic-free cycle and walking routes which have trees, hedges and grasslands can be great highways for nature as well as people.

Recently Sustrans staff and volunteers along with employees from Tesco in Cleckheaton raked an area of cut grass along the Spen Valley Greenway.

They also sowed seeds to help encourage wildflowers on the raked ground as part of efforts to increase wildlife along the paths.

Teams compete in Great British Rake Off events across England during August and September along selected routes in Sustrans’ Greener Greenways project, which aims to survey, protect and enhance biodiversity along some traffic-free sections of the National Cycle Network.

Last year, Cumbria was the winning Rake Off team, with 75 bags of cut grass.

Sarah Bradbury, Sustrans Greener Greenways Project Officer for the North thanked everyone for their participation in the Kirklees Great British Rake Off.

"Raking is really hard work but everyone got into the spirit of competition and created a fantastic new area along the route for wildflowers, as well as improving biodiversity generally," says Sarah.

"We rely on volunteers to look after our traffic-free routes and to help improve these routes for wildlife. If you’re interested in being involved please get in touch with our local office or via our website.”

Sustrans’ Greener Greenways project works on over 400km of routes across Britain looking after wildlife on traffic-free paths.

Animals such as badgers or voles need green spaces to forage and create their homes, while bats and birds use the corridors of trees found along cycle routes to navigate and nest.

As part of its work, the charity is seeking volunteer wildlife champions to help record wildlife along the path and manage habitats such as grasslands and hedgerows for nature.

Linear green spaces such as cycle and walking paths are important to allow species to move freely between habitats.

This helps populations to remain robust and to adapt to environmental changes. Raking helps encourage wildflowers, which thrive in nutrient-poor soil.

Volunteers rake the grass into a big pile or take it off site so that the grass doesn’t degrade and release nutrients into the soil. If the grass is put in one place, any nutrients in the grass are confined to one area. A big pile of grass makes a great habitat for animals on the route, especially if there are grass snakes.

As well as helping to spruce up the routes for cyclists and pedestrians, participants get to rake in the benefits too through exercise and being out and about in the fresh air.

There is a social aspect to the scheme too - participants can form new friendships and have the satisfaction of knowing their contribution can make so much difference.

To find out more about this and to get involved, or to find out more about the charity's latest initiative - Cycle to Work Day - on Wednesday (September 13) which is encouraging people to get on their bikes and take a two-wheeled commute to work - visit sustrans.org.uk

You can also follow the charity on Twitter and Facebook: Twitter: @sustrans @sustransnw @sustransyorks @sustransne and Facebook: Facebook.com/sustransnorthwest; facebook.com/sustransnortheast or facebook.com/sustransyorkshire.