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 vibrant, enigmatic, and verdant campus filled with wildlife and vegetation that aren’t typically found at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they are correct – every portrayal of Silwood Park holds true!
As a member of this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I aim to shed light on the student experience, activities, and community within our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and encompassing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an application designed for recording and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide within a social network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. A separate search on eBird shows that 111 bird species have been documented on-site to date.
Moreover, Silwood Park is the location for numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two prominent studies conducted here.
Life as a Student at Silwood Park
The campus primarily consists of postgraduate students focused on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us are members of various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – which looks after the chickens raised behind our residential halls
- Book Club – which regularly convenes to discuss interesting literature
- Gardening Club – which oversees the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – which arranges nature walks and conservation-related activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
Being part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also engage in the activities of clubs located in South Kensington!
Unofficially, we have clubs that take part in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and classes, we host many community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities to maintain a lively and stimulating student environment! Recently, we held 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 united to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also had community-organized gatherings celebrating global occasions (like Carnival) or simply festivities for the joy of it.
My favorite event on campus, however, must be the weekly pub quiz organized by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that the losing teams from the quiz are responsible for setting the next one, and I can proudly state that I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Even though I’ve lost countless pub quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment with good friends and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a half-hour walk from the lively surroundings of civilization (such as the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or insufficient. In addition to a multitude of events and activities, we maintain a friendly and inclusive community comprised of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus landscape, and, most importantly, each other’s company. We’re a tightly-knit community that delights in stargazing during the cold winter on the open field next to