Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a verdant, enigmatic, and vibrant campus alive with wildlife and plants that are rare at other schools like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As an ambassador for this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I wish to illuminate the student life, events, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and comprising environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and open pastures. A brief inquiry on iNaturalist, a platform for cataloging and sharing biodiversity insights worldwide with a network of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 types of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, and an additional search on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been logged so far.
More intriguing, Silwood Park is also the location of numerous long-term field studies, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent initiatives conducted on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – tasked with caring for the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who meet regularly to discuss books of interest
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who organize nature walks and conservation-oriented activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also engage in the activities of clubs located in South Kensington!
Casually, we have groups participating in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either on the multi-use games area (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Apart from club activities and lectures, there are many community-driven events held on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and supports these activities to ensure a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, during which our largely international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also welcomed the Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, making dumplings and couplets to greet the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized celebrations for global festivities (like Carnival) or simply for the love of social gatherings.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz organized by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that those who lose the pub quiz must host the next one, and I can confidently state I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Despite losing many pub quizzes due to my limited general knowledge, there’s always a great time to be had with good company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or insufficient. Beyond the countless events and activities, we have a friendly and inclusive community made up of students from all corners of the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, more significantly, one another’s company. We’re a close-knit group that delights in stargazing on chilly winter nights in the open field next