Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they think of a verdant, enchanting, and green campus bustling with wildlife and vegetation that are rarely observed at our other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a voice for this lesser-known segment of the Imperial community, I wish to shed light on the student life, engagements, and community within our natural parkland campus situated in Ascot, Berkshire.
A glimpse into Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and incorporating ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application for mapping and sharing biodiversity insights globally with a virtual community of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. A further search on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been documented on campus thus far.
Moreover, Silwood Park is frequently the venue for numerous long-term field research endeavors, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two among the notable projects carried out on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily hosts postgraduate students who are keen on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us actively participate in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – which looks after the chickens kept behind our residence halls
- Book Club – that regularly convenes to discuss titles of interest on their reading list
- Gardening Club – responsible for maintaining the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – which arranges nature walks and conservation-oriented activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us are also involved in and frequently participate in activities organized by clubs based in South Kensington!
Additionally, we informally engage in clubs that partake in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which occur either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) available on campus or at the indoor sports facilities found in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club engagements and classes, we host numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and supports such activities to promote a lively and dynamic student life! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, bringing our predominantly international community together to share languages and cultures over several weeks. We also celebrated Chinese New Year at the year’s outset, crafting dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve enjoyed community-organized festivities commemorating global celebrations (like Carnival), or parties simply for the joy of celebrating.
However, my favorite campus event undoubtedly has to be the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that the quiz losers must organize the next one, and I can confidently assert that I hold the record for the most quizzes set this year. Despite losing numerous quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always enjoyment to be found in the company of friends and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it lies a 30-minute walk from the bustling essence of civilization (like the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt routine or unexciting. Beyond the various events and activities, we foster a friendly and inviting community made up of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, appreciate our stunning campus grounds, and