Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet specializing in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they envisage a vibrant, enigmatic, and verdant campus filled with wildlife and vegetation seldom found on other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they’re right – every portrayal of Silwood Park holds true!
As a voice for this lesser-known facet of Imperial, I wish to emphasize the student experience, activities, and community present at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and showcasing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open grasslands. A quick check on iNaturalist, an application for documenting and sharing biodiversity observations globally within a social network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while a further search on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been documented on campus to date.
Interestingly, Silwood Park hosts numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more renowned studies conducted on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus predominantly accommodates postgraduate students keen on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us engage in multiple clubs based at Silwood Park. Significant examples include:
- Chicken Club – who tend to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who periodically meet to discuss books featured on their reading list
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation-themed activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also take part in activities organized by clubs in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs that indulge in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my absolute favorite!), which take place either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports halls located in nearby towns such as Bracknell or Ascot.
Beyond club activities and classes, we have numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park features its own student council that organizes and facilitates such events to ensure a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our largely international community united to share languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year event at the beginning of the year, where everyone came together to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome a new lunar year. Additionally, we have seen community-organized gatherings celebrating events from various cultures around the globe (like Carnival), or parties simply held for the joy of celebration.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, run by our student community. It’s ingrained in Silwood culture that the team with the lowest score in the pub quiz must set the next one, and I can proudly assert the record for the most pub quizzes hosted this year. Although I have lost many pub quizzes due to my limited knowledge of general trivia, there’s always a great time to be had with wonderful company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the bustling atmosphere of civilization (like the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt ordinary or devoid of excitement. Along with the myriad events and activities, we boast a friendly and inviting community made up of students from around the globe. All of us cherish nature, adore our