By JODIE SYMONDS
ABC’s Gardening Australia host recently made a flowery visit to see his beloved fans in Mount Evelyn.
The disability workers’ program at Garden Lovers Yarra View Nursery brought Costa Georgiadis to meet the people who idolise him.
The nursery program enables 80 volunteer workers with disabilities to gain hands-on experience in the gardening industry. They all got the chance to meet their gardening guru.
And Costa couldn’t help himself as he started helping to weed the garden as soon as he arrived at Yarra View Nursery.
“For me, it’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to understand a community and the work that they do for disabled workers,” he said.
“They’re doing the work and have been working extremely hard to work up those skills required to be in the workforce, which is just great.”
Yarra View Nursery manager Bernie Sullivan said seeing the enjoyment on his staff’s faces when the saw Costa was priceless.
“It’s really about the workers to have someone of that calibre in the same industry, doing the same work that they’re doing,” Mr Sullivan said.
“But look at them, look how happy they are to meet him; they’re absolutely jumping out of their skins.
“We have Costa’s DVDs and they’ve been used for educational purposes to teach about landscaping practices and the development of important skills,”
“We’re hearing the improvement from their families. They want to build garden beds at their homes and it’s just sensational,” Mr Sullivan said.
Costa and his fans first met at the Kinglake Temporary Village where they helped rebuild the lives of the community after the devastation of the Black Saturday Fires.
He said community work was his main priority as it becomes a bonding experience for everyone involved.
For more information, about the disability workers’ program contact Yarra View Nursery on 9737 0400.
