Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students envision Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enchanting, and green campus bustling with wildlife and plants rarely found at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many aspects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a voice for this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I’d like to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and featuring habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open meadows. A quick look on iNaturalist, a platform for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations globally within an online network of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. Additionally, an inquiry on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been observed on campus thus far.
Interestingly, Silwood Park is also the venue for numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more recognized studies carried out here.
Experiencing student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students focused on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us belong to several clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens kept behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who frequently assemble to discuss selected readings of interest
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments within our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
Being part of the broader Imperial student community, several of us are also members and actively engage in activities in clubs located in South Kensington!
Casually, we also engage in clubs focused on sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which take place either in the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at the indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and classes, we host many community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that arranges and facilitates these activities to foster a lively and dynamic student experience! In recent months, we’ve hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community united to share languages and cultures over several weeks. We also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year event at the beginning of the year, during which everyone contributed to making dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve enjoyed community-organized parties celebrating global events (such as Carnival) or parties arranged simply for the enjoyment of gathering.
However, my favorite campus event must be the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the losers of the pub quiz are tasked with organizing the next one, and I can proudly state that I hold the record for the most pub quizzes set this year. Despite my numerous losses due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always a great time to be had with fantastic company and a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my sanctuary away from home
Although it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt monotonous or wanting. In addition to the multitude of events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inviting community made up of students from across the globe. All of us cherish