Runnymede is lucky to have one of the greenest school yards in the TDSB! The Yard Committee maintains and enhances this amazing school yard – everything from the basketball hoops and play structures to the Hillside Garden, stone amphitheater, peace circle and outdoor art projects.
We built and continue to enhance the Kinder-Garden sensory garden, and do important maintenance such as planting, weeding, watering and painting. We also work closely with teachers to share curriculum-based lesson plans that can be implemented in Runnymede’s amazing outdoor classroom.
Key initiatives:
– Green Teacher Program (Fall & Spring)
– Yard Days
– New recess equipment for classes
– Key collaborations with the Green Team
Do these initiatives interest you? Please consider joining the Yard Committee!
Join us!
You don’t have to have a “green thumb” to be a part of the Green Committee – just a willingness to help out around the school yard. You can also support this committee by donating old garden tools or Canadian Tire money at the school office or by attending the Fall and Spring Yard Days – fabulous family-friendly events that combine work and fun.
To join the committee or to volunteer your time, please contact Yard Committee Chairs Ryan Lockhart Gower & Hayley Goodwin
Contact: runnymedeyard@gmail.com
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Welcome back to Runnymede 2025/2026!
school’s wonderful outdoor spaces. With the help of a small group of parent and student volunteers, we pick up garbage, cut back invasive species, and trim and weed the nature garden trails, amphitheatre, kinder yard and front gardens – spaces that teachers depend on
We also purchase flowering bulbs for the kindergarten classrooms so they can experience the joy of planting them in their school yard planters and watch the flowers bloom next spring.
Fall Yard Day – Sept 27, 2025
Fall Yard Day is held on a Saturday morning in Sept/Oct and we welcome students, families, teachers and community members to help us clean up our Nature Garden, outdoor classrooms, and flower beds before the Green Teacher programming commences! In addition to all the gardening and yard work that will be taking place, we plan to have a couple of fun arts and crafts activities for the students, a nature scavenger hunt, and an apple peeling station. We need help to make this day run smoothly, especially on the day-of, with set-up, clean-up, helping with the activities and organizing coffee, etc.
Green Teacher program
In fall, students have been learning about what our garden provides to help animals survive (grade 2), food chains (grade 4), and the importance of biodiversity to an ecosystem (grade 6) through engaging and interactive sessions.
We run the program in 19-20 classes each season!
Welcome Garden
We continue working with Mme. Kling to further beautify the commemorative Welcome Garden at the front of the school.
Recess Equipment
Early in the year we also inventory and order recess equipment to help ensure students have access to fun and engaging experiences out in the yard.
If you know of any friends / parents that are interested in getting involved with the Green Committee then please have them email Runnymedeyard@gmail.com. We always enjoy welcoming new members to our committee and given how active we are, we can always use the help!
Did you know? The Hillside Garden
The Green Committee, is interested in students and staff getting the most out of the outdoor spaces that are part of our schoolyard. In particular, we rely on fellow parent volunteers to help maintain the Hillside Garden area of the yard.
Runnymede is very fortunate to have the Hillside Garden – a natural forest with trails that is actually part of our schoolyard! The Hillside Garden is the envy of schools across the TDSB but many Runnymede families aren’t aware of its history and origins…
The Green Committee was actually first established in 1990 when staff and parent volunteers came together to plant and create the forest that is now Runnymede’s Hillside Garden.
The entire forest area used to be a steep, grassy slope that was closed-off to the schoolyard because it was too steep and difficult to maintain.
Over the next decade, native plants, shrubs and trees were planted in the Hillside Garden and it developed into the amazing outdoor learning space that is used and enjoyed today.
The main purpose of our Yard Day events is for the school community (students, parents and staff) to come together to maintain the Hillside Garden so that it remains a healthy and vibrant outdoor learning space for many years to come.
Our Spring & Fall Yard Days are one of the very best community events at Runnymede PS!
Join us!
You don’t have to have a “green thumb” to be a part of the Green Committee – just a willingness to help out around the school yard. You can also support this committee by donating old garden tools or Canadian Tire money at the school office or by attending the Fall and Spring Yard Days – fabulous family-friendly events that combine work and fun.
To join the committee or to volunteer your time, please contact Yard Committee Chairs Ryan Lockhart Gower & Hayley Goodwin
Runnymede Home & School Association 
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