A school garden in Portland could grow with your help.

Jefferson High School has served high-needs students in the north end of Portland, Oregon for decades. Recently the building was restructured to house magnet school for students interested in the arts and sciences. Among the student body are students from many other nations who are new to the country and are just starting to learn English.

One of the teachers at Jefferson Academy of Science and Technology who teaches these English Language Learners wants to create a garden, a wonderful little secret garden in a walled area of the school. The garden will have a pond and a little ferny patch. All they need is $146 to buy the pots, seeds, plants, and pond kit.

This teacher has posted his request on the DonorsChoose website. Here's what he has to say about the project:

I teach students English. My students are new to the United States. My students come from Africa, Vietnam, Haiti and Mexico. To come to America as a highschool student and not understand English is hard. I do everything I can do to help them become good citizens of our country.

I need to find a away to make them feel they can do something. The first year as a newcomer to America is hard. This garden project is a way they can give back to the community and learn about nature.

I need plants, pots, seeds and a plastic pond liner. These materials and my students hard work will create a secret garden where now the space is only an ugly concrete walled off space.

This project will change the lives of the new students and the school. The student body will be able to see the hard work that my English Language Learners put into this garden and may inspire them to contribute to the community.

My students need to create a secret garden in a walled off space. We need one Woodwardia Fern Garden kit and one Create-a-Water Garden. The cost of this proposal is $146, which includes shipping for any materials requested and fulfillment.

If you'd like to pitch in, just click on the thermometer widget here and drop in a contribution. Ten dollars here, twenty there, and this project will be funded in no time. The deadline in in August.