Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they visualize a verdant, enchanting, and green campus bustling with wildlife and flora rarely seen at other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re accurate – every depiction of Silwood Park is true!
As a member of this lesser-known community at Imperial, I aim to showcase the student experience, events, and camaraderie at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introduction to Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and offering diverse habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application for documenting and sharing biodiversity observations globally with a community of naturalists online, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while a check on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been noted thus far.
Additionally, Silwood Park hosts numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent studies conducted on-site.
Student Experience at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students keen on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Most of us are involved in various clubs established at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – who care for the poultry located behind our student accommodations
- Book Club – who meet regularly to discuss interesting reads
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who coordinate nature walks and conservation-based activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As participants in the broader Imperial student community, many of us also engage in events of clubs based in South Kensington!
Informally, we have groups that partake in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club initiatives and classes, numerous community-led events take place on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and supports such activities to promote a vibrant and exciting student life! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community united 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 joined to make dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized gatherings celebrating global events (like Carnival) or parties held simply for the joy of partying.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the quiz losers are responsible for organizing the next one, and I can proudly state that I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Despite losing many quizzes due to my poor trivia knowledge, there’s always great fun to be had in the company of friends and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My home away from home
Although it’s a 30-minute walk from the vibrant life of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or deprived. Beyond the many events and activities, we are part of a warm and inviting community comprised of students from around the globe. We all share a love for nature, cherish our stunning campus surroundings, and, more importantly, enjoy one another’s company.