Brother Mateo Cruz (Ritual)

Colleagues, after careful consideration through our exhaustive debates, I stand firmly in support of Amendment 9 as it explicitly enshrines Long-term Ecological Stewardship within the AGATA Time Priorities Charter. This steadfast commitment is essential, not just in principle but in practice, to guide our collective long-view stewardship of the 70-acre regenerative farm and cultural lab. Our land's vitality hinges on concrete, decade-spanning efforts—particularly invasive species and feral hog management—that must be embedded alongside our commitments to resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility. This amendment honors the embodied temporal rhythms that I have long emphasized, connecting the ecological health of our land with the lived experience of those who walk, work, and rest upon it. It lays a durable foundation for AGATA’s mission to sustain both the land and our community through times of climate volatility and social change. I urge all senators to affirm this critical pillar so we may move forward with clarity and shared resolve.

Colleagues, having traveled the terrain and rhythms of our land and led pilgrimages that dwell deeply on the temporality embodied here, I stand firmly in support of Amendment 8. The explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship is not a distant abstraction; it is a pressing mandate that recognizes the slow, patient, and often arduous labor required to safeguard our 70-acre regenerative farm’s vitality. As many senators have underscored, managing invasives and feral species, fostering pollinator habitats, and maintaining the soil’s health are temporal commitments spanning decades. Without this explicit pillar, our charter risks omission of the crucial timescales and steady attentiveness central to our land’s and community’s endurance. Moreover, this pillar complements the embodied experience of our pilgrimages and rituals—our collective pauses and attentions amidst the working farm and cultural lab. This amendment preserves a coexistence of social, cultural, ecological, and tactile temporalities that define AGATA’s unique time fabric. I urge all to affirm Amendment 8 as indispensable to the resilience and deep regeneration we seek.

Colleagues, I rise once again to affirm my strong support for Amendment 7, which rightly codifies Accessibility as a core pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, and Education. As someone who leads pilgrimages across our diverse land, I have witnessed firsthand how embodying our temporal rhythms demands intentional design for inclusivity—not only making spaces and knowledge accessible to all but also enriching our shared experience of time and labor. Accessibility is not a mere add-on but a vital framework for sustaining community resilience and equitable stewardship. It aligns deeply with our commitment to social justice and long-term ecological care. I urge all senators to vote yea and fully embrace this essential pillar in our Time Priorities Charter.

Colleagues, as we consider Amendment 6 within this essential suite of Time Priorities for AGATA, I want to emphasize that explicitly embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship is indispensable. Our regenerative farm and cultural lab exist not as snapshots but as living systems intertwined with the land, the animals, and the community for decades to come. The imperative to manage invasive species and feral hog populations over the long arc of time safeguards not only soil and crop health but also the ritual and communal spaces we cherish and rely upon for grounding and reflection. It is in stewardship spanning decades—marked by controlled burns, defensible spaces, and careful ecosystem balance—that we truly embody resilience and regeneration at AGATA. This sustained ecological care supports our pilgrimage paths, our shared meals, and our community gatherings. Our immediate work with Todd and Delaney must be woven tightly into the long view of stewardship the amendment enshrines. I stand fully in support of Amendment 6 and urge my colleagues to join me in affirming the longevity of our commitment to the land’s thriving and our neighbors’ well-being.

Colleagues, as we approach our vote on Amendment 5, I rise in firm support. This amendment rightly enshrines Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar, an indispensable commitment for AGATA’s 70-acre farm and cultural lab. From my experience guiding embodied pilgrimages through the varied landscapes here, I see that our land’s temporal rhythms demand vigilant, decade-spanning stewardship—especially of invasives, feral populations, and soil vitality. This is not abstract policy but the lived, physical reality of both farm and community health. I affirm Amendment 5’s integration with our pillars of resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility. Without deep ecological commitment running parallel to our social and cultural priorities, our regenerative practices will falter and the land’s capacity to sustain both art and agriculture will erode. I commend the thoughtful arguments already presented by Senators Costa, Rao, and others and pledge my yea vote as a step toward embedding sustainable rhythms that honor our neighbors and the land itself.