Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When students at Imperial envision Silwood Park, they picture a vibrant, enchanting, and verdant campus bustling with distinct flora and fauna, setting it apart from other sites such as South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are correct – every portrayal of Silwood Park holds true!
As a member of this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I wish to shed light on the student experience, activities, and community within our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introduction to 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 expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application for documenting and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide within a network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while a further inquiry on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been identified to date.
More intriguingly, Silwood Park is also home to numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent studies conducted on-site.
Student Life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily consists of postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution initiatives. Most of us engage in a variety of clubs based at Silwood Park. Some notable ones include:
- Chicken Club – tending to chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – engaging in discussions about books of interest
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also get involved in activities of clubs based in South Kensington!
Informally, we have sports clubs such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), either using the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and classes, we host many community-led events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that coordinates and facilitates these activities, promoting a lively and engaging student atmosphere! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, and our annual Chinese New Year celebration, where everyone prepared dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized gatherings celebrating global events (like Carnival) or simply for the joy of celebration.
However, my favorite campus occasion is the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that the quiz losers organize the next one, and I can proudly state that I hold the record for the highest number of pub quizzes set this year. Despite my frequent losses due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment with wonderful company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Home Away from Home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively pulses of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or lacking. In addition to the many events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inviting community made up of students from various parts of the globe. We all share a love for nature, our stunning campus surroundings, and, more importantly, each other’s presence. We form a tight-knit community that takes pleasure in stargazing in the winter chill in the open fields next to our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our window views, and bonding with fellow nature enthusiasts.