Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enchanting, and green campus brimming with wildlife and plants that are rarely seen on other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, this perception is accurate – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a voice for this lesser-known segment of the Imperial community, I want to emphasize the student experiences, activities, and camaraderie at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and showcasing environments such as fresh water streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick query on iNaturalist, an app designed for cataloging 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. A further exploration on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been documented on campus to date.
Interestingly, Silwood Park is also the venue for numerous long-standing field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more recognized endeavors conducted on-site.
Student experiences at Silwood Park
The campus primarily hosts postgraduate students engaged in projects concerning ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – which oversees the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – which meets regularly to discuss books that pique their interest
- Gardening Club – which tends to the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – which organizes nature excursions and conservation-related activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
Being part of the broader Imperial student network, many of us also take part in activities from clubs situated in South Kensington!
Additionally, we have informal clubs that partake in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either at the multi-use games area (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in neighboring towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club initiatives and classes, we host many community-led events on campus. Silwood Park features its own student council, which organizes and facilitates these activities to promote a lively and thrilling student atmosphere! Recently, we hosted 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 made dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve enjoyed community-organized parties celebrating global events (like Carnival) or parties simply for the joy of gathering.
However, my favorite campus event must be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that those who lose the pub quiz are responsible for setting the next one, and I can proudly claim the highest number of quizzes created this year. Despite losing at numerous pub quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment to be had alongside good company and a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my sanctuary away from home
Although it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt tedious or lacking. Beyond the myriad events and activities, we foster a warm and inviting community made up of students from all corners of the globe. We all share a love for nature, appreciate our stunning campus grounds, and, most importantly, cherish each other’s company.