Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students envision Silwood Park, they picture a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus bustling with wildlife and plants seldom found at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As an advocate for this lesser-known enclave at Imperial, I aim to showcase the student experience, activities, and community within our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
An overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and encompassing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an app for recording and sharing biodiversity observations globally alongside an online social network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been identified on campus, while further exploration on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been documented to date.
More intriguingly, Silwood Park is also home to numerous long-duration field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more recognized studies taking place on-site.
Life as a student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolutionary studies. Most of us engage in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some prominent examples include:
- Chicken Club – looking after the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – discussing books of interest on a regular basis
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – coordinating nature walks and conservation-based activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student network, many of us also take part in events organized by clubs situated in South Kensington!
On a more casual note, there are clubs involved in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club activities and academic classes, we host numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and supports such events, creating a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we enjoyed the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community exchanged languages and cultures over several weeks, as well as our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, where everyone crafted dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also hosted community-organized festivities celebrating global occasions (like Carnival) or simply to revel in the joy of gatherings.
My favorite campus event, however, must be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that those who lose the pub quiz host the next one, and I can proudly assert the highest number of pub quizzes organized this year. Despite losing many pub quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always plenty of enjoyment in good company accompanied by a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my refuge away from home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the energetic atmosphere of urban life (such as the train station and the nearest village), existence at Silwood Park has never felt dull or wanting. In addition to the numerous events and activities, we possess a friendly and inclusive community of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and most importantly, each other’s companionship. We’re a tight-knit group that relishes stargazing in the chilly winter nights in the open field beside our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our room windows, and spending quality time with one another.