PROFILE
Then, in the middle of 2015, I started
assisting my father, Alan Cluett, in his sole
proprietorship. I really enjoyed working in
the industry and learning about the further
applications of environmental science. It
was, and still is, a wonderful opportunity to
work with and learn from my father, who has
so much knowledge and experience in the
industry that it can be difficult to comprehend!
In February last year we formalised the
arrangement and created a family business
in which my brother Iain, a geographer and
economist by training, and my mother Saskia,
who works on the administrative side of the
business, are also involved.
Robyn Grimsley (RG): Could you tell me about
yourself and your background?
Colleen Cluett (CC): I have a Master’s degree in
ecology from Wits University. Originally, my
plan was to study microbiology and genetics
as those were subjects that fascinated me
in high school. However, in my first year,
the life science course was divided between
lectures from the School of Molecular and
Cell Biology and the School of Animal,
Plant and Environmental Sciences. Thank
goodness it was! I became fascinated with the
interwoven nature of our en