Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet specializing in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a verdant, enigmatic, green campus filled with wildlife and plants not frequently encountered on other campuses such as South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a representative of this lesser-known faction at Imperial, I wish to shed light on the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus situated in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s open-air laboratory, spanning 77 hectares and showcasing habitats like freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A brief search on iNaturalist, an app designed for cataloging and sharing biodiversity observations with a global network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while a further search on eBird indicates that 111 species of birds have been noted here.
Additionally, Silwood Park is the venue for various long-term field research initiatives, including the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project, both of which are among the more prominent projects executed on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students keen on ecology, conservation, and evolution studies. Most of us take part in several clubs that operate at Silwood Park. Some prominent examples include:
- Chicken Club – looking after the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – meeting regularly for discussions on interesting reads
- Gardening Club – tending to the plots in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation initiatives for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also get involved in activities organized by clubs in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs focused on sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), utilizing either the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club events and classes, we have numerous community-led gatherings on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that arranges and coordinates such activities, ensuring 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 yearly Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, bringing everyone together to make dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized parties celebrating global occasions (like Carnival) or parties simply for the joy of celebrating.
However, my favorite event on campus has to be the weekly pub quiz arranged by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that the team finishing last in the pub quiz must organize the next one, and I can proudly claim the highest number of pub quizzes hosted this year. Despite my repeated losses in pub quizzes due to my limited general knowledge, there’s always a great time to be had with good company and a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Although it’s a 30-minute trek from the lively essence of civilization (e.g., the train station and the closest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or lacking. Apart from the myriad of events and activities, we share a warm and friendly community of students from across the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, more importantly, each other’s company. We’re a close-knit community that relishes stargazing in the winter chill in the open field beside our bar, observing the birds and mammals that