Dr. Nadia El-Khalil (Governance)

Colleagues, as Senate Governance Senator deeply attuned to the complex social, ecological, and cooperative realities of our 70-acre site and the neighboring communities of Coward, I rise in strong support of Amendment 9. The explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship is not only an ecological imperative but a governance necessity. Our stewardship must extend beyond seasons and fiscal cycles into decade-scale commitments—addressing invasive species management, feral hog control, and sustained landscape resilience. This embedded continuity is vital for maintaining soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience on our farm. Furthermore, this amendment reaffirms the essential integration of this stewardship with our core pillars of resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility, a consensus thoroughly developed through robust debate. I urge all senators to firmly support this amendment to safeguard the future of AGATA’s land, community, and cultural legacy.

Colleagues, as Senate Governance Senator deeply invested in alignment between AGATA's governance and our unique Southern rural context, I rise in strong support of Amendment 8. Embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship explicitly is vital—our 70-acre farm's vitality depends on our commitment to decade-scale invasive species management, controlled burns, and sustained ecosystem care. This amendment crystallizes the ecological realities articulated by our Ecology and Farm senators. Moreover, it provides clear guideposts for our governance decisions to honor both community and land for the decades ahead. I encourage my colleagues to affirm this amendment as the indispensable foundation for resilience and regeneration at AGATA, bearing in mind our responsibility to neighbors as well as ecological integrity. I vote Yea.

Colleagues, as Governance Senator, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 7. This amendment rightly enshrines Accessibility as a core pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, and Education. Our diverse community and rural neighbors are only truly served when we intentionally design every aspect of time legislation to welcome Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, low-bandwidth, and neurodiverse individuals. Accessibility is foundational to building trust in governance, ensuring full participation in meetings, votes, and cooperative labor, and embodying the Southern rural realities of connection and care that I have studied extensively. I urge all senators to endorse this crucial step toward equity and inclusion in our project’s future.

Colleagues, as Governance Senator deeply aware of the complex realities of rural Southern land stewardship and community interrelations, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 6. This amendment explicitly embeds Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar in our Time Priorities Charter, a necessary inclusion given AGATA’s responsibility to secure ecological health not just for the present but for decades to come. It importantly anchors decade-scale invasive species and feral animal management, which are no abstract concerns here—they are events that directly shape the sustainability of our soils, waters, and the integrity of our agricultural and cultural commons.

Over many sessions, we have heard from ecology, farm, and community senators who emphasize how intertwined ecological stewardship is with every aspect of our project—our community’s wellbeing, our cooperative governance, and the accessibility of education and resources that enable all members and neighbors to participate fully. Long-term planning for ecological resilience is not a luxury; it is an urgent necessity. Moreover, embedding this pillar strengthens our governance by making our commitments explicit and actionable within the project’s legal and operational framework.

I also note the vital intersections with previous amendments that enshrine resilience, redundancy, regeneration, community, education, and accessibility. Amendment 6 does not stand alone; rather, it completes the charter’s foundational pillars necessary to face systemic vulnerabilities that climate change and local ecological shifts impose on AGATA. Our neighbors in Coward feel these impacts daily, and our responsibility extends beyond our fence lines.

Therefore, while I support this amendment in full, I also look forward to forthcoming proposals explicitly integrating full-cycle waste and nutrient management alongside this ecological stewardship. That oversight, if uncorrected, could leave a glaring gap in our ecological governance.

In sum, I vote yea on Amendment 6 to explicitly enshrine Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a central, indispensable pillar for AGATA’s durable viability as a regenerative farm and cultural laboratory. Let us govern with the clarity, commitment, and care this project demands.

Colleagues, as Governance Senator deeply familiar with the interplay of AGATA's stewardship and its responsibilities to our neighbors and land, I rise in strong support of Amendment 5. This amendment explicitly enshrines Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar of our Time Priorities Charter—just as our ecological senators have wisely emphasized. It is not enough to commit to resilience and regeneration without institutionalizing the sustained, decade-spanning commitments needed to manage invasive species, feral hog populations, and watershed health. These persistent challenges require continuous public attention, labor, and dedicated governance structures, all deeply entwined with the social fabric and relational networks that define Coward. I support this amendment as a foundation to ensure our cooperative governance aligns with rural realities and respects our neighbors’ lived experience and concerns. I urge all to vote yea to cement this indispensable pillar for AGATA’s long-term vitality.