Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When most Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus brimming with wildlife and flora rarely found at other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a member of this lesser-known community at Imperial, I would like to emphasize the student experience, activities, and camaraderie at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and featuring habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open grasslands. A quick exploration on iNaturalist, an application for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide within an online 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 shows that 111 bird species have been noted so far.
Moreover, Silwood Park hosts several long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more notable studies taking place on site.
Life as a student at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students interested in projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. A majority of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – who look after the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who frequently meet to discuss choice readings
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation-related activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also engage in activities offered by clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we participate in sports clubs such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), either at the multi-use games area (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club activities and classes, our campus hosts numerous community-led events. Silwood Park features its very own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities to maintain a lively and dynamic student life! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our largely international community exchanged languages and cultures over a few weeks, and our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the start of the year, where everyone gathered to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also celebrated community-organized parties for various global events (like Carnival) or simply gatherings organized for the joy of socializing.
However, my favorite campus event must be the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the quiz losers organize the next event, and I can proudly assert I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Although I’ve lost numerous pub quizzes due to my limited trivia knowledge, there’s always good cheer to be found in great company over a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the bustling atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt routine or deficient. Alongside the many events and activities, we boast a friendly and inclusive community made up of students from diverse backgrounds across the globe. We all share a love for nature, our stunning campus, and, more importantly, each other’s company. We are a close-knit group that enjoys stargazing in the