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, enigmatic, and verdant campus bustling with wildlife and vegetation rarely encountered at our other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many aspects, they are correct – every depiction of Silwood Park is accurate!
As a member of this lesser-known institution at Imperial, I’d like to emphasize the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Welcome to Silwood Park
Silwood Park functions as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and containing 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 worldwide with a network of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while a further inquiry on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been documented thus far.
More intriguingly, Silwood Park is also the location of numerous long-term research projects, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the most recognized studies carried out on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students with interests in ecology, conservation, and evolutionary research. Many of us are active participants in various clubs situated at Silwood Park. Prominent examples include:
- Chicken Club – tending to the chickens raised behind our student accommodations
- Book Club – consistently discussing intriguing books
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation endeavors for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also get involved in activities from clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs participating in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club activities and classes, we host numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities to guarantee a lively and thrilling student experience! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community shared their languages and cultures over several weeks, alongside our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the year’s beginning, where we all came together to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome a new lunar year. We’ve also organized community parties celebrating global festivities (such as Carnival) or gatherings just for the joy of having a good time.
My favorite event on campus has to be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s part of Silwood tradition that the teams who lose the pub quiz host the next one, and I can proudly claim to have set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Even though I’ve lost quite a few pub quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always laughter with good friends and a cold pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my home away from home
Although it is 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 been dull or lacking. In addition to the abundance of events and activities, we boast a warm and inviting community made up of students from around the globe. We share a love for nature, our stunning campus surroundings, and, most importantly, each other’s company. We’re a tight-knit community that relishes stargazing under the winter sky on the open field next to our pub, observing the birds and mammals that grace our window views.