The Great Plains are known for many great things. The biome that engulfs most of the Midwest states is a notorious landscape with a rich history. A History of Outlaws and the Wild West, where the buffalo roam while spun in circles by the powerful winds, and honest work. One thing the Great Plains and especially Southwestern Kansas is not particularly known for is getting large amounts of rain if any rain at all. As the 2023-2024 Garden City Community College academic school year begins, Garden City is receiving larger and larger amounts of rain. This rainfall has been very beneficial to the farm community in the Finney County area. GCCC students are taking notice and enjoying the new, greener, change in scenery. Daylin Leblanc, a graduate student studying marketing management, spoke highly of the new look of Garden City.
“Garden City, since my first year has become a lot less bland with a lot more to look at,” Leblanc said. “Alongside a lot more things for me to do, the nicer weather with the rain has definitely bettered the look of the campus.” Leblanc also commented on how it seems to be bettering the social atmosphere around town.
“I don’t know if it is entirely due to the weather, but the campus is much more connected than it was my first years here,” Leblanc said. “Even if it is just a little bit, having the Garden City landscape be less brown and more green I think has affected the vibe of campus in a nice way.”
Outside of campus, the improved amount of rainfall has made the lives of those in the community much better as well. Garden City, is a town and area highly circulated by agriculture and farming and has had a major boost in production numbers due to the high rain. Nathan Imel, a Sophomore studying Ag Production worked for a family farm and he alongside his family was pleased with the extra precipitation for their crops.
“It was amazing. It felt like it rained every night this summer.” Imel said. “The rains were a little too late to really help out our summer crops, but our spring crops are definitely going to be much much better. Corn and Milo especially are going to be up this year.” Though the Midwest and towns within are still in need of steady rain for a longer period, the quenched thirst for the moment is well appreciated. Hopefully, with time, Garden City will begin to look more and more like the overflowing garden it declares to be.