Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a vibrant, enchanting, and verdant campus bustling with wildlife and flora not typically found at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As an ambassador for this lesser-known community within Imperial, I wish to emphasize the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
A glimpse into Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and featuring ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application for tracking and sharing biodiversity observations globally with a social network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while an additional look on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been identified to date.
Curiously, Silwood Park also hosts numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more distinguished studies conducted on-site.
Student experience at Silwood Park
The campus is mainly home to postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution initiatives. Many of us belong to various clubs based in Silwood Park. Some notable examples include:
- Chicken Club – who tend to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who frequently meet to discuss intriguing books
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also engage in clubs based in South Kensington!
Additionally, we have informal clubs that partake in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), taking place either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and classes, we host numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities, ensuring a lively and engaging student life! In recent months, we’ve enjoyed the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community exchanged languages and cultures over several weeks, and our annual Chinese New Year festivity, where we prepared dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. We’ve also celebrated community-organized parties that honor global events (like Carnival) or simply for the sake of enjoying a party.
My favorite event on campus is the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that the quiz losers organize the next one, and I can proudly claim the highest number of pub quizzes set this year. Despite failing numerous pub quizzes due to my poor general knowledge, there’s always a great time with good friends and a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively atmosphere of civilization (such as the train station and the closest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or lacking. Along with the many events and activities, we share a friendly and inviting community of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus surroundings, and, most importantly, each other’s company. We are a close-knit community that appreciates stargazing in the winter chill on the open field beside our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our window views, and spending quality time with fellow nature enthusiasts.