Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet focusing on Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus alive with wildlife and flora seldom found at other sites like South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they are accurate – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a representative of this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I wish to emphasize the student experience, activities, and community within our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and showcasing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick look on iNaturalist, an application allowing users to document and share biodiversity insights globally with an online network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while an additional search on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been noted on campus thus far.
Additionally, Silwood Park is a hub for numerous extended field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more prominent studies carried out on-site.
Life as a Student at Silwood Park
The campus predominantly accommodates postgraduate students focused on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us participate in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some notable examples are:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – meeting regularly to discuss literature of interest from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging 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 activities from clubs located in South Kensington!
Additionally, we have informal clubs participating in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my own favorite!), based either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports halls found in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and lectures, we host various community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park features its own student council that organizes and manages such events to promote a lively and dynamic student experience! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community came together to share languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, where everyone united to make dumplings and couplets to welcome in the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve organized community parties celebrating global events (like Carnival), or simply hosted parties for the joy of gathering.
However, my favorite campus event must be the weekly pub quiz arranged by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the losers of the pub quiz are tasked with setting the next one, and I can proudly assert that I hold the record for the highest number of pub quizzes arranged this year. Despite losing multiple quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always a great time to be had with good company and a fine pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Home Away From Home
Even though it is situated a 30-minute walk from the lively buzz of civilization (like the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or lacking. Alongside the many events and activities, we enjoy a warm and inviting community made up of students from all corners of the globe. All of