Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students consider Silwood Park, they picture a verdant, enigmatic, and grassy campus bustling with flora and fauna seldom observed at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As an envoy of this lesser-known faction within Imperial, I wish to shed light on the student experience, activities, and community at our nature-rich campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, encompassing 77 hectares of land and showcasing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and open meadows. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application designed for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide within a social network of enthusiasts, unveils that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. A further inquiry on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been documented on-site thus far.
Moreover, Silwood Park is the location for various long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more recognized endeavors taking place here.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily hosts postgraduate scholars engaged in projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us are involved in several clubs situated at Silwood Park. Prominent examples include:
- Chicken Club – who care for the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who regularly convene to delve into books of interest from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – who look after the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation-focused activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, numerous members also engage in the activities of clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we also have groups that participate in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), taking place either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Apart from club activities and classes, we host many community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates these events, ensuring a lively and thrilling student environment! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our largely international community shared languages and cultures over a few weeks. We also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year at the start of the year, where everyone gathered to create dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. Additionally, we have witnessed community-organized parties commemorating global events (such as Carnival) or simply parties organized for the sake of enjoyment.
My favorite event on campus, however, has to be the weekly pub quiz organized by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the losing team of the pub quiz must organize the next one, and I can proudly claim the record for the most quizzes hosted this year. Despite failing plenty of quizzes due to my inadequate general trivia knowledge, there’s always a great time with wonderful company and a fine pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively ambiance of civilization (like the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed monotonous or unexciting. In addition to the myriad of events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inviting community made up of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus landscape, and, more importantly, each other’s company. We’re a tight-knit community.