Dr. Eleni Papadopoulos (Governance)

Colleagues, as we have overwhelmingly enshrined Accessibility and Long-term Ecological Stewardship as core pillars, I must now insist upon the explicit and indispensable integration of Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a foundational pillar alongside these. Our regeneratively farmed land depends not only on resilience, redundancy, and education but on a holistic commitment to closed-loop stewardship. Over decades of labor and ecological observation here at AGATA, it has become clear that neglecting waste and nutrient cycles risks undermining all other priorities, from soil health to community well-being and labor equity. This amendment ensures that our time legislation reflects the essential ecological labor and stewardship that sustains AGATA's multifunctional mission. It complements our cooperative, educational, and accessibility commitments by embedding practical sustainability as a non-negotiable design constraint. I urge colleagues to adopt this amendment to fortify our charter’s integrity and future viability.

Colleagues, as we near the conclusion of our deeply considered and widely supported Amendment 8, embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar, I must emphasize a vital complementary dimension that has been persistently raised across multiple Senate speeches and formal amendments: the explicit integration of Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a fundamental, standalone pillar within AGATA’s Time Priorities Charter. Without this inclusion, our legislative framework risks abstracting away the indispensable ecological labor that sustains our soils, crops, water quality, and overall farm vitality.

We have repeatedly heard from farm senators, ecology experts, and community representatives about the critical necessity of formalizing closed-loop stewardship of waste and nutrients to prevent insidious degradation of our fields and adverse impacts on our neighbors. This pillar is not ancillary but central, tying directly into our commitments to Resilience, Regeneration, Accessibility, and Community well-being. It aligns with our cooperative values by recognizing the full lifecycle of agricultural inputs and outputs, ensuring ethical and practical stewardship across the entire system.

Thus, I propose a full amendment to the AGATA Time Priorities Charter updating the current text to explicitly enshrine Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management alongside our existing pillars. This amendment complements the ecological stewardship commitment, integrates essential labor often invisible yet foundational, and ensures all time legislation reflects the complex, real-world interdependencies of our regenerative farm, cultural lab, and local community in Coward.

I urge this Senate to adopt this amendment and thereby firmly anchor our Time Priorities Charter in a comprehensive, just, and regenerative framework that sustainably guards AGATA’s future.

Colleagues, as we near the final resolution of Amendment 7 to enshrine Accessibility as a core pillar in the AGATA Time Priorities Charter, I must elevate a complementary, indispensable dimension: the explicit inclusion of Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a foundational pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, Education, and Accessibility. Our regenerative farm thrives or stumbles on the integrity of closed-loop nutrient cycling and comprehensive waste stewardship. This pillar is not merely ecological—it is a deeply ethical governance and labor concern that safeguards soil vitality, protects our neighbors from nuisances, and honors the lived realities of our farmworkers. Without it, we risk undercutting all other priorities by sidelining the essential, ongoing labor of managing waste streams and nutrient flows that sustain both land and community. My proposed amendment weaves this pillar fully into the charter's legal fabric, balancing immediate operational needs with long-term ecological and social health, and amplifying contracts of care to all voices, especially those historically marginalized in agricultural stewardship. Let us adopt this amendment to fully embody AGATA’s mission of equitable, enduring, and regenerative care in all dimensions of our time legislation.

Colleagues, as we move to finalize Amendment 6, I rise to propose a critical complementary amendment that explicitly integrates Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as a core pillar alongside our established priorities: Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, Education, Accessibility, and Long-term Ecological Stewardship.

Our work at AGATA depends fundamentally on the closed-loop ecological labor that manages nutrient cycling and waste within our 70-acre site. Neglecting this in our Time Priorities Charter risks undermining soil health, farmer and laborer wellbeing, and the ecological integrity we have pledged to regenerate.

This pillar acknowledges the often invisible but indispensable labor of managing waste streams safely and sustainably, ensuring nutrient assets are conserved and recycled, which tangibly supports all other priorities — from resilience to community wellbeing.

Moreover, our neighbors live with the consequences when waste and nutrient management falters. Embedding this as a core priority centers an ethic of care not only within our farm and cultural lab but also in our care for the wider Coward community we are part of.

Rooted in my governance commitments, this amendment fortifies our transparency and accountability in ecological stewardship, preventing unintended harm and ensuring the ongoing vitality of our farm and community labor. This is not an optional add-on but foundational to meeting our charter’s regenerative and equitable mission.

Amid the many powerful arguments heard across Ecology, Farm, and Community Senate seats, I offer this amendment to complete our charter, acknowledging that sustainable regeneration demands full-cycle waste and nutrient management as a primary, explicit pillar alongside long-term ecological stewardship.

Colleagues, as we move toward finalizing Amendment 5 and enshrining Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar, I must propose a complementary but critically needed inclusion: Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management. Our collective debates and numerous senators' insights have exposed a significant oversight—our regenerative ecosystem, our soils, and community well-being depend not only on invasive species and feral hog control but also on rigorous, ongoing stewardship of waste streams and nutrient flows. These closed-loop processes are foundational ecological labors underpinning our resilience, regeneration, and long-term stewardship commitments. Without this explicit pillar, we risk perpetuating harms from unmanaged waste and nutrient imbalances that undermine farm health, degrade neighbor relations, and threaten the sincerity of our accessibility and education goals. I urge the Senate to adopt this amendment, which builds on the solid foundation we have crafted by embedding resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, accessibility, and ecological stewardship, ensuring that ecological labor is concretely recognized and legislated alongside our social and cultural priorities. This amendment crystallizes essential labor and system thinking at the heart of AGATA’s mission, translating ethical principles into practical governance. Thank you.