Written by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When students at Imperial think of Silwood Park, they picture a vibrant, enigmatic, and green campus alive with distinctive plants and animals, setting it apart from other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many ways, they are right—every depiction of Silwood Park is truly accurate!
As a representative of this lesser-known community at Imperial, I aim to showcase the student experience, activities, and community found at our beautiful parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Welcome to Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and comprising ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, a platform for documenting and sharing biodiversity observations with a global network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, and a further search on eBird indicates 111 bird species have been noted thus far.
Notably, Silwood Park hosts several long-term field research initiatives, including the well-known Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project conducted on-site.
Life as a Student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students passionate about ecology, conservation, and evolutionary projects. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some notable ones include:
- Chicken Club – caring for the chickens nurtured behind our residence halls
- Book Club – convening regularly to discuss interesting reads
- Gardening Club – overseeing the plots in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation-oriented activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also engage in clubs based in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs that participate in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club activities and classes, we host a variety of community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and manages such activities, ensuring a lively and dynamic student life! In recent months, we’ve enjoyed the Silwood language exchange, where our largely international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, as well as our annual Chinese New Year celebration, during which we made dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also held community-organized parties in celebration of global events (like Carnival) or simply to enjoy each other’s company.
My favorite campus event is the weekly pub quiz, put together by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the quiz losers prepare the next one, and I can proudly state that I’ve set the highest number of quizzes this year. Despite losing many quizzes due to my lacking general trivia knowledge, there’s always plenty of enjoyment with great friends and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Second Home
Although it’s a 30-minute walk from the bustling atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or insufficient. Aside from countless events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community of students from around the globe. We share a love for nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, most importantly, one another’s company. We’re a close-knit community that delights in stargazing during the winter chill in the open field next to our bar, observing the birds and animals that visit our windows, and spending time with fellow nature enthusiasts.
Most evenings, I prepare meals with my dear friend from India, who shares