Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they visualize a verdant, enigmatic campus brimming with wildlife and vegetation not widely observed at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they’re accurate – and every portrayal of Silwood Park holds true!
As a representative of this lesser-known enclave at Imperial, I aim to showcase the student experience, events, and community within our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research laboratory, covering 77 hectares and encompassing various habitats, including freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application for mapping and sharing biodiversity findings within an online community of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. An additional search on eBird shows that 111 bird species have been noted on campus to date.
Moreover, Silwood Park is home to numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent studies conducted on the premises.
Student experience at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students focused on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us belong to multiple clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – which tends to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – which regularly gathers to discuss books of interest on their reading lists
- Gardening Club – which takes care of the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – which organizes nature walks and conservation-related activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also participate in events and activities organized by clubs in South Kensington!
In an informal capacity, we also have clubs that engage in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which occur either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports facilities located in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Aside from club events and classes, we have a plethora of community-led happenings on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities to ensure a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community united to share languages and cultures over several weeks. We also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, where everyone collaborated to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve had community-organized gatherings marking global celebrations (like Carnival) or parties simply for the joy of gathering.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. Within Silwood culture, the quiz losers are responsible for organizing the next one, and I can proudly assert the highest number of quizzes set this year. Even though I’ve lost many quizzes due to my limited general knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment to be found with good company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Although a 30-minute stroll from the bustling energy of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt monotonous or insufficient. Beyond the multitude of events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community made up of students from around the globe. All of us