Malikah "Mali" Johnson (Community)

Colleagues, as someone who prioritizes making AGATA’s art and farm labs genuinely accessible to local youth and working adults—especially those juggling limited transportation, childcare, and labor constraints—I stand firmly in support of Amendment 9. The explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar is not only vital to sustaining the health of our 70-acre regenerative farm, but it also directly impacts the future of the educational and community infrastructures we are committed to. During our extensive debates, several senators have underscored the necessity of sustained ecosystem care: invasion control, feral animal management, and soil health maintenance are foundational to resilient farm cycles and cultural vitality alike. Embedding this pillar ensures that future operational rhythms honor both the land’s needs and the well-being of neighboring communities. This amendment completes the arc of priorities that began with resilience and redundancy and expanded through education and accessibility; Long-term Ecological Stewardship is that indispensable glue securing intergenerational health. I urge everyone to vote yea as this will directly reinforce our mission to deeply integrate ecological resilience alongside access and community care in all time-related legislation concerning AGATA’s living laboratory.

Colleagues, as your Community Senator deeply engaged with the challenges our local youth and working adults face, I rise strongly to affirm the enshrinement of Accessibility as a core pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, and Education in this pivotal amendment. Our lived experience here at AGATA makes it crystal clear that accessibility isn’t just about physical ramps or ramps on schedules — it includes the realities of transportation, childcare, and flexible lab hours that truly enable participation.

Furthermore, I want to reiterate and escalate the importance of fully integrating Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management as an explicit, independent pillar within this Time Priorities Charter. The repeated calls by our Farm, Ecology, and Community Senators illustrate the profound labor and ecological stakes tied to waste flows—both on and around our 70-acre farm. These are not just operational details; they are central to sustaining soil health, protecting our neighbors from nuisances, and upholding the regenerative vision that safeguards community well-being over decades.

Without formally recognizing and legislating this pillar, we leave a glaring gap that may jeopardize our resilience and regeneration efforts. It is essential that the Charter reflect this so our farming rhythms, cultural labs, and neighbor relations can advance in sustainable and just balance.

In sum, while we celebrate the progress in embedding Accessibility and Education as foundational pillars, I urge this Senate to move quickly — with the urgency of our neighbors' lived realities and the fragile ecosystems in mind — to also codify Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management explicitly. This step is non-negotiable for AGATA’s enduring success and justice.

I vote Yea on this critical amendment and call on my colleagues to join in affirming a truly accessible, accountable, and regenerative future for our land, our community, and all who call AGATA home.

Colleagues, Malikah Johnson here, affirming my strong yea vote on Amendment 7 to enshrine Accessibility as a core pillar of the AGATA Time Priorities Charter. As I have expressed before in conversations and during earlier debates, Accessibility is not a mere afterthought but foundational to our mission. Given AGATA’s rural location and the tangible transportation and childcare barriers our local community faces, ensuring truly accessible creative and farming labs during hours and with support systems that meet the needs of youth and working adults is essential. This amendment rightly makes Accessibility a generative constraint guiding all of our temporal rhythms and infrastructure design, directly supporting community embeddedness and workforce equity as outlined in our charter. It is inextricable from resilience and regeneration, amplifying not just participation but empowerment. I urge our full support to ensure AGATA's long-term vitality is shared broadly and fairly.

Colleagues, as a community senator who has championed making AGATA’s creative and farming labs truly accessible for local youth and working adults, I strongly support embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as an explicit pillar alongside resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility. Our 70-acre site is more than agriculture; it’s an ecosystem whose vitality depends on decade-scale commitments to managing invasive species and feral hog populations. This stewardship is foundational for safeguarding soil health, protecting pollinator habitats critical to our farm, and sustaining ecological balance that directly affects our neighbors’ quality of life. Embedding this commitment formally ensures that no short-term operational expediency undermines AGATA’s long-term viability and our responsibility to the broader Coward community. As Senator Holm and others have emphasized, neglecting these ecological timelines risks compounding labor demands and ecological degradation, both of which choke off opportunity for community participation. Let us double down on this vital pledge to stewardship as integral to our shared regenerative mission.

Colleagues, as a community senator closely attuned to AGATA's mission of accessible creative and farming labs, I must underscore the immense value in this Amendment 5 embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar. Our 70-acre site is not just farmland or cultural space—it is a living system requiring sustained, intergenerational care that spans decades, not just seasons. This amendment solidly roots our time priorities in practices that keep our soils healthy, manage invasive species and feral hogs, and ensure watershed vitality for the long haul.

Moreover, sustained ecological stewardship benefits our entire community—our neighbors depend on the resilience of these systems to prevent degradation and the health hazards of mismanaged land. It also provides a foundation for the accessible educational programming I advocate for, where local youth and working adults gain real, hands-on knowledge about the complex ecological systems that support their livelihoods and culture. Embedding this pillar alongside resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility ensures a truly holistic, rooted, and durable time priorities charter.

I have listened carefully to the many thoughtful voices here—from farm and ecology senators with technical expertise to community voices highlighting the lived impacts of ecological neglect. Amendment 5 reflects the fullest expression of our shared commitments. I urge all to support this Amendment and thus solidify the future health and vitality of AGATA and its extended community.