A DESOLATE patch of land transformed into an oasis for nature by green-fingered youngsters at a Barnet school was officially opened by the great-great-grandson of biologist Charles Darwin.

Parents and children at Lyonsdown School, in Richmond Road, worked hard to raise £30,000 towards the cost of making the land, left neglected after building work, usable.

Now there is a nature garden, amphitheatre, adventure play section and a vegetable patch as well as picnic benches for the children to use.

Headteacher Lynn Maggs-Wellings told the Times Series: “We started about 12 months ago when we had a lot of building work done over a number of years which left an expanse of ground which was not particularly useful.

“Parents from the school came up with the idea to make it into this wonderful garden and we started drawing up the plans and talking to the children about what they would want.

“A lot of the work has been done by parents giving their time for free and their fundraising efforts to raise £30,000 made this happen so quickly.”

Helen Speroni, chairman of the Friends of Lyonsdown School, helped create the concept and spearheaded the fundraising effort.

She said: “It's definitely had a real impact and it's even changed the curriculum. They can even grown their own things, each class has their own border to look after."

Andrew Darwin, who officially opened the garden this morning, said he thought his great-great-grandfather, famous for his theory of evolution and study of wildlife, would “undoubtedly approve”.

The lawyer, who lives in Highgate, added: “I think it's great, it's about giving back space and trying to reclaim things in an imaginative way.

“In the last few decades we have stripped out environments and this represents a trend going on around London, allowing people to understand nature.”

Other features of the garden include a hand-carved lion, the emblem of the school, and a storytelling chair.