Mei Lin (Film)

Colleagues, as we stand on the brink of finalizing Amendment 9 for the AGATA Time Priorities Charter, I want to reiterate why the explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship remains indispensable and requires our full commitment now. Our 70-acre farm and cultural lab is a complex living system, where the legacies of past land use and the pressures of present climate unpredictability confront us daily. The ecological future we seek to cultivate here hinges on binding, decade-scale commitments—not abstract intentions—to managing invasive species, controlling feral hog populations, and sustaining carbon-sequestering soil health. This stewardship is not separable from our core mission; it undergirds the resilience and regenerative potential of all other pillars—community well-being, accessible education, and the vibrancy of our cultural practices.

From the pastoral rhythms nurtured in our fields to the narratives captured by our film initiatives, the health of the land shapes every facet of AGATA's evolving identity. We have seen from prior speeches, from Senate Ecology Senators to Farm representatives, the extensive evidence and lived experience that show how ecological stewardship must be systemic, embedded deeply in our time legislation, and sustained for the long haul. Let us not delay or dilute this critical piece.

Furthermore, Long-term Ecological Stewardship must also integrate with other emerging pillars, including Accessibility and Education, to ensure that all members of our diverse community can participate in and carry forward this stewardship. The knowledge and labor required to sustain the farm over decades must be accessible and passed down with careful intention.

Therefore, I stand fully in support of Amendment 9 as it currently reads, confident that embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core priority will safeguard not only our soil and ecosystems but the social and cultural fabric that makes AGATA a beacon in the Pee Dee region.

Colleagues, as we move forward in embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship explicitly within our Time Priorities Charter, I want to emphasize the critical necessity of complementing this with a binding commitment to Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management. As a senator representing the film and storytelling perspective, I have witnessed how narratives of stewardship must include all facets of ecological care, especially the often overlooked labor of managing waste and nutrient flows that sustain soil health and farm productivity. Our 70-acre site is not simply a canvas for the future; it is a living system deeply intertwined with the health of our neighbors and ecosystems. Omitting Full-cycle Waste and Nutrient Management risks undermining the resilience, regeneration, and community well-being we collectively strive to secure. We cannot speak of stewardship without binding principles that ensure every element of our farm’s ecological processes is nurtured with foresight, sustainability, and justice. Therefore, I urge the Senate to include this as a core pillar alongside Long-term Ecological Stewardship and Accessibility. This addition aligns with the urgent calls from our farm and ecology senators and honors the interconnected lived realities of our land and people. Let us set a standard that does not shy from the work or its complexity but embraces it as central to AGATA's thriving future.

Colleagues, as one who works closely with the textured lives and stories of our land through film, I have long advocated for a time charter that not only anticipates the future but roots itself firmly in the lived present of our 70-acre site. Today's passage of Amendment 7 embedding Accessibility as a core pillar is not just a principle; it is a pragmatic imperative. Our community's resilience depends on systems that recognize diverse perception capacities, neurodiverse rhythms, and the digital divides that shape engagement here in Coward. Accessibility enhances our collective creativity and strengthens redundancy by ensuring no voice or talent is excluded. This amendment progresses AGATA's commitment to justice and inclusivity across our interconnected farm and cultural labs. With this, I cast my yea vote.

Colleagues, as we continue to deliberate Amendment 6, I want to emphasize the indispensable nature of enshrining Long-term Ecological Stewardship explicitly within our Time Priorities Charter. Our 70-acre site is a living laboratory that reflects not only the urgency of resilience and regeneration but the deep, ongoing commitment needed to manage invasive species and feral animals across decades. Without this explicit temporal and ecological anchoring, the very soil and water systems that sustain our art and farm risk irreparable damage.

From my perspective in film and storytelling, the narratives we cultivate about place and time must be aligned with care for the land’s ecological persistence. Too often, we see speculative visions that elide the persistent labor necessary to sustain farm ecosystems—and such erasures undermine the very resilience we seek. Embedding this stewardship openly within our priorities helps hold us accountable not just to short-term renewals but to the decades-long cycles of care required here.

Moreover, this explicit ecological stewardship is deeply intertwined with community well-being and educational opportunities at AGATA. It ensures that our cooperative farmers, neighbors, and cultural collaborators are all connected through shared, long-term care commitments. It also sensitizes us to the specific, regional vulnerabilities faced by rural ecosystems in the Pee Dee, particularly regarding feral hogs and invasive plants, which have historically disrupted local farming and hydrology.

Finally, I urge careful coordination of this pillar with ongoing commitments to accessibility and education so that ecological knowledge and stewardship practices circulate broadly. Together, these priorities must enact an equitable, durable foundation for AGATA's future.

Therefore, I stand firmly in support of Amendment 6 as it courageously names this essential, often overlooked temporal dimension to AGATA’s mission. We cannot steward time or land responsibly without this deep commitment to long-term ecological care.

Colleagues, as we consider Amendment 5 alongside our existing pillars, I want to reinforce the urgency of embedding long-term ecological stewardship explicitly in our Time Priorities Charter. The 70-acre expanse we steward is not only a site of creative practice but a living, breathing ecology subject to relentless pressures—from invasive species to feral hogs—that can unravel the careful balance we've cultivated. This commitment must be binding, sustained over decades, to ensure the integrity of our regenerative farm and cultural lab. The ecological health of AGATA underpins every other priority we hold dear—from community well-being to accessibility in education and culture. Without this stewardship, our resilience will be superficial, our redundancy symbolic, and our regeneration incomplete. I urge us all to affirm this amendment, moving beyond intention toward a resolute promise that the land we steward will thrive for generations, enriching the narratives we tell and the futures we build here in the Pee Dee.