To live a rich and prosperous life you don’t need a lot of money or possessions. Instead, you need healthy relationships and fulfilling experiences.

This was the sentiment David Suzuki left École Desrochers students with after a ten minute conversation last Tuesday. When asked about what was currently the most pressing issue, Suzuki spoke of his hero, his father, and their conversation during his final month alive.

“He kept saying over and over again, ‘David, I am a rich man, I’m dying a rich man’. He didn’t have any money at all, but his wealth was in people, and the things that we did together. And that’s what we have to do. What is it that makes us happy? What is it that makes us really rich? And it’s not about stuff its about people that we love and care about. So, I think the challenge is in our brains.”

Suzuki was talking to the five Grade 9 students from Écoles Desrochers who entered ‘Win a phone call from the man himself’ competition whereby they made a video call to Prime Minister Stephen Harper prior to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen last December. There were just five winners across Canada.

“Knowing that there are only four other people that he is going to call,” said Maddy McKensie. “You just feel so special... He’s so inspirational, just hearing him talk.”

Bernice Addison was also left wanting to hear more from Suzuki.

“The way he explained things made you want to hear more. It was really exciting because in the middle of it I actually realized he was talking to us.”

Suzuki commended the girls on their video call to Harper for thinking about more than just the human impact of climate change, as they all dressed up as different animals being impacted by global warming.