This episode of Verdant Views, offered on February 24, 2022 in recognition of Black History Month, welcomed Don Rakow, associate professor in the Section of Horticulture in Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science, and Catherine Thrasher-Carroll, Mental Health Promotion Program Director at the Skorton Center for Health Initiatives at Cornell Health. The presentations included both a historical framework and current conditions that serve as barriers to greater use by people of color, and various efforts underway to make natural spaces more open, inviting, and responsive to expressed needs.