Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet specializing in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
When students of Imperial picture Silwood Park, they see a vibrant, enchanting, and verdant campus buzzing with distinctive wildlife and plant life, setting it apart from other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are accurate – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As an advocate for this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I wish to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, encompassing 77 hectares and showcasing ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open grassy areas. A quick search on iNaturalist, a platform for documenting and sharing biodiversity insights with a global community of naturalists, uncovers that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. Further exploration on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been noted on campus to date.
Remarkably, Silwood Park is also home to numerous extended field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent studies undertaken on-site.
The student experience at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate scholars focused on ecology, conservation, and evolutionary studies. Many participate in a variety of clubs based in Silwood Park. Some noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – taking care of the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – regularly discussing intriguing books from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – tending to the plots in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation-related activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also engage with and regularly take part in activities from clubs situated in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs that involve sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), functioning either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot at indoor sports facilities.
In addition to club events and classes, we host a variety of community-driven activities on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and coordinates such initiatives to foster a lively and exciting student life! Recently, we held a Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community gathered to share languages and cultures over several weeks. We also marked Chinese New Year at the year’s start by making dumplings and couplets to ring in the new lunar year. We’ve also participated in community-organized parties celebrating global festivities (such as Carnival) or simply hosting gatherings just for the joy of it.
However, my favorite campus occasion has to be the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. A Silwood tradition is that the quiz losers design the following one, and I can proudly assert that I have set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Despite my numerous defeats in pub quizzes due to my inadequate trivia knowledge, there’s always a good time enjoyed in great company with a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt boring or unexciting. Apart from the many events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community made up of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, more importantly, one another’s companionship. We are a tight-knit group that loves stargazing in the winter chill in the open field adjacent to our bar, watching