Conceived by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet specializing in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus bursting with wildlife and flora uncommon at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In several respects, they are correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a spokesperson for this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I wish to shed light on the life of students, activities, and the community at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park functions as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and showcasing habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A brief query on iNaturalist, an application devoted to mapping and sharing biodiversity insights globally linked with an online community of naturalists, uncovers that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while an additional investigation on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been identified on-site thus far.
Even more interesting, Silwood Park is also the venue for various long-term field research endeavors, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more recognized projects undertaken on the premises.
Student experience at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students keen on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. The majority of us engage in multiple clubs situated at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – which takes care of the chickens reared behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who convene regularly to discuss books of interest on their reading list
- Gardening Club – which looks after the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – that organizes nature walks and conservation-centered activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also take part in events organized by clubs based in South Kensington!
Informally, we also have groups that participate in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports halls located in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club activities and classes, we host numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates such events to guarantee a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we enjoyed the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community came together to share languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also held our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the year’s beginning, where everyone collaborated to make dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also organized community-hosted parties celebrating festivals from around the globe (like Carnival), as well as parties simply for the joy of socializing.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s part of Silwood tradition that the losers of the pub quiz must arrange the next one, and I can proudly assert the highest number of pub quizzes organized this year. Despite losing many quizzes due to my limited grasp of general trivia, there’s always a great time to be had with enjoyable company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Although it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively essence of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt monotonous or lacking. Alongside the plethora of events and activities, we have a warm, inviting community composed of students from across the globe. We all cherish nature and our stunning