David has 5 children – 3 from his first marriage with Setsuko Joanne Sunahara (Tamiko, Troy and Laura) and 2 from his second marriage with Tara Elizabeth Cullis (Severn and Sarika).
Since both he and his second wife Tara are environmental activists, their children, Severn and Sarika also began following in their footsteps at a young age.
Severn Cullis-Suzuki
Severn is best known for the inspiring speech she delivered at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, urging adults to reevaluate the impact of their actions on the environment for the future of the children. At the age of 10, she founded the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO) after an upsetting trip to the Amazon where she saw the rainforests being destroyed at the hands of farmers and gold miners. ECO was made up of her fellow Grade 5 friends who shared her concern about the forests. Prior to the speech at Rio, Severn and her ECO team organized a major fundraising event to raise awareness of their cause, giving presentations that moved the audience so much they donated a total of $4,700 to ECO. Following the event, other prominent individuals heard about their cause and further donated $8,000 for ECO. In total, Severn and her team raised more than $13,000 to attend the Earth Summit in Rio.
As an adult, Severn continued to follow in her father’s footsteps, becoming an environmental activist who gave speeches around the world about environmental issues, urging people to be take individual responsibility towards their environment. She has also co-hosted a children’s TV series Suzuki’s Nature Quest. Severn is currently an Earth Charter International Council Member.
Sarika Cullis-Suzuki
Sarika is David Suzuki’s youngest daughter from his marriage with Tara. In 2008, David and Sarika launched a CBC-TV program The Suzuki Diaries. The program focuses on sustainability issues in Europe and looks at how people at various levels can work towards restoring the balance between human needs and the limitations on the environment.
Like David, Sarika is an active environmentalist. She is particularly interested in the conservation of marine biodiversity. As an adult, Sarika has given speeches and published numerous papers on topics related to marine consevation. She has acted as a member in the WWF-Canada Oceans Advisory Committee and is currently a board member of the David Suzuki Foundation and the Centre for the Salish Sea.