Rising urban heat and lack of access to green spaces in schoolyards led to a need for community-focused, nature-based solutions in Austin, Texas. Led by Austin Parks and Recreation Department and UTHealth School of Public Health in Austin, the Central Texas Green Schoolyards Project is a research initiative to determine how green features—trees, gardens, and nature trails—in three joint-use elementary school parks impact heat index within parks and children’s physical activity and well-being. This project shows the positive impacts of nature-based solutions with a strong community focus and how transforming urban heat islands into cooling green spaces benefit students and neighborhoods.