Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they think of a vibrant, enigmatic, and verdant campus filled with wildlife and plants rarely found at our other campuses, such as South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are correct – every portrayal of Silwood Park is precise!
As a spokesperson for this lesser-known segment of the Imperial community, I wish to emphasize the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and showcasing habitats like freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A straightforward search on iNaturalist, an app designed for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations globally with an online network of naturalists, reveals 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi documented on campus, while an additional search on eBird uncovers 111 bird species identified thus far.
Notably, Silwood Park is home to numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two prominent studies conducted on-site.
Student Experience at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students interested in ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Highlights include:
- Chicken Club – looking after the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – holding regular discussions about interesting books
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, quite a few of us also engage in activities of clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs participating in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), based either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Beyond club activities and classes, we host numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates activities to ensure a vibrant and dynamic student life! Recently, we enjoyed the Silwood language exchange, where our international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, and our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the year’s start, where everyone made dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. Community-organized parties celebrating global occasions (like Carnival) or simply for the joy of gatherings have also taken place.
My favorite campus occasion is the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s become part of Silwood culture that the quiz losers are responsible for setting the next one, and I can proudly state I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Despite frequently losing pub quizzes due to my lack of general trivia knowledge, there’s always a great time spent with good friends and an excellent pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from bustling civilization (such as the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt monotonous or deficient. In addition to a plethora of events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community made up of students from various parts of the globe. We all share a passion for nature, cherish our beautiful campus grounds, and most importantly, enjoy each other’s company. We are a tight-knit community that revels in stargazing in the winter chill on the open field adjacent to our bar, watching birds and mammals at our window, and spending moments among fellow nature enthusiasts.
Most evenings, I cook with my dear friend from India who shares my passion for Asian cuisine and bird