Numurkah’s Lester is making a name for himself on the football field and at Parliament House

Not one to fit the cookie-cutter mould of your standard footballer, Lester has made a name for himself across a range of subjects.

A gun footballer for Numurkah in the Murray Football League, a passionate ecologist, a self-proclaimed “Doggies nuffie“ and a social media star who has shaken hands with the prime minister.

While Lester’s whole story can’t be neatly divided into three sections, it does help show the different parts of his diverse life.

Who is Clancy Lester?

Born and raised in Numurkah, Lester feels most comfortable back in his home town.

The nature reserves and wetlands that Numurkah possesses provide Lester with a breath of fresh air each time he returns as he hops between his life in the city at Albert Park and his time in the country.

It was at his home where Lester’s interest in ecology (the study of how organisms interact within their ecosystems) was born.

That spark then grew into an obsession thanks to watching hours upon hours of nature documentaries by environmental icons Steve Irwin, David Attenborough and Malcolm Douglas.

His passion led him to the state’s capital once his high school studies had concluded as he embarked on a journey that would result in him becoming a Master of Science (majoring in BioSciences) at the University of Melbourne.

Lester’s love for the creepy crawlies kept him busy in the city, but his life in the concrete jungle among the tall buildings meant he needed a release of nature.

That’s where Lester said Numurkah Football Netball Club became an outlet and reason for him to escape to the country.

“When I first moved to the city, I felt like I was in a cage, locked up because it is all concrete everywhere and living in high rises and there is traffic and that sort of thing,” Lester said.

“When I would leave to come back to the country and see so much greenery everywhere, it was like a breath of fresh air.

“It definitely was a massive relief for me when I would come back to play footy.

“Not as much now, because I have moved to Albert Park, which is a bit more country town vibe because I know my neighbours now.”

Born George Lester like his father, the family decided to run with his middle name Clancy to avoid confusion not only within the family home, but in Numurkah as a whole.

Lester’s lifelong love for the environment has run parallel with his passion for football.

Having donned the navy blue Numurkah guernsey since the age of eight, Lester was a bedrock of the club’s junior program from start to finish.

Now 24, he will play his 100th senior game against Cobram this weekend, suitably at home.

Lester said he had always enjoyed buzzing about the footy club, helping out when he could.

“I am super passionate (about the Blues),” he said.

“I have been part of leadership groups in teams, I have done the water boying and the running and helping out with the young kids, I have always been around and volunteered.

“Selling raffle tickets and all that sort of stuff.”

The Beast in Blue ... and red and white?

Having played hundreds of games for Numurkah across the junior and senior divisions, this season Lester ventured into new clubrooms for the first time.

No, he hadn’t switched allegiances, rather he had been spotted and considered for higher honours by VFL club Footscray.

Alongside Numurkah teammates Josh O’Dwyer and Jarrod Holmes, Lester was invited to train at The Kennel across the summer.

Despite his busy schedule, the opportunity was too good for Lester to pass up.

He grew up as a Western Bulldogs fan and the chance to mingle in the gym with the likes of stars Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore was a dream come true.

Lester said he has loved the opportunity to train at Whitten Oval.

“That (experience) has been awesome,” he said.

“Fighting for a contract at Footscray and played a few practice games there and that has been awesome.

“I was a Doggies fan to begin with — I am a Doggies nuffie — getting an inside look at the AFL facilities and going into the gym when you see blokes like ‘Bont’ and ‘Libba’ walking around, it has just been an unreal experience.

“Training at a really high level and high quality has been awesome.

“Hoping it can translate to my footy this year as well.”

Numurkah's Jordan O’Dwyer has long been a fan of Lester’s work ethic.

The Blues co-coach spoke highly of the defender ahead of his 100th senior game for the club.

“Not gifted with the most talent as a junior, (Lester) has had to work hard to get to where he is,” O’Dwyer said.

“Countless hours spent in the gym and on the training track has got himself to a position where he is one of the best centre half-backs in the Murray league.

“Major strengths of his are his competitiveness, aerial ability and his ability to play on talls or smalls due to his athletic ability.”

O’Dwyer spoke glowingly of Lester’s commitment to the club and the wider Numurkah community.

“As a kid, he was just that kid that had to be water boy for the seniors week in and week out and really looked up to the older guys,” he said.

“Work and studies have dragged him out of Numurkah but there’s nothing he loves more than travelling back and playing football for his home club.

“He also involves himself in the community and has recently attended the local primary school to pass on his knowledge regarding his profession.”

Whether it was his love for the Doggies or close watching of his Numurkah idols as a junior that was the catalyst behind Lester becoming a competitive beast, who knows?

Likely, it was a mix of both that created his dogged and determined nature on and off the field.

The making of the Bee Man

While football and the Numurkah community remain close to Lester’s heart, his profession remains his main focus and passion.

An environmental educator, Lester has built a 16,400-strong following on Instagram (handle is @beesandblossoms.aus) under the alias the Bee Man.

With his masters degree he travelled to the Northern Territory for part of his studies.

There he learnt how Yolŋu First Nations people were affected by a decline in native bees.

This discovery focused his ecological passion on trying to increase insect numbers and biodiversity; from there the Bee Man was hatched.

Lester said he was now taking his nature conservation knowledge out to schools, with a focus on country areas.

“Since I finished uni at the end of last year, I have been going to schools and community groups and environmental organisations and everything in between to educate people about the environment and biodiversity and insects, native bees and pollinators,” Lester said.

“I am wanting to get out to more regional and rural communities.

“I have a few schools around the Shepparton area which I am planning on visiting this year to run these (sessions).

“That was why I went to parliament as a Trailblazer, to try and provide more opportunities for regional kids to talk to scientists and see and listen from me about nature and biodiversity."

Lester was invited to Parliament House in Canberra in March this year as part of the ABC’s Trailblazer program.

The initiative is aimed at celebrating young people aged 18-28 who are dedicated to bettering regional Australia.

Lester spoke to a large assembly as part of being invited.

As he prepared for one of the biggest moments in his life, the 24-year-old realised his wardrobe's shirt collection was looking bare.

However, when in doubt Lester knows he can always lean back on the footy club for support as he arrived in Canberra proudly wearing the Numurkah polo.

“I wore the club polo because I don’t have too many shirts that I look really nice in because a good polo is pretty expensive these days; since I have moved out of home I lose those sort of luxuries,” he said.

“I like looking a bit more snazzy with the Numurkah polo, that’s part of the reason (for wearing it)."

One of Lester’s many points when speaking as an environmental educator, among limiting pesticides and listening to advice from First Nations people, is that more households need to plant native flora to bring back Australia’s native fauna.

“The number one thing I like to tell people is to plant as many native plants and trees and flowers and grasses that you possibly can," he said.

“Because that will be the best thing for all of the native birds, pollinators and insects and everything in between.

“That is what they have evolved to use as resources and building their homes for millions of years, so if we can restore things back to the natural environment by planting native plants, that is probably the best thing that we can do, especially flowering plants.

“Even putting rocks in your garden for native lizards, there are lots of ways you can create habitats.”