By Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a lush, enigmatic, and verdant campus bustling with wildlife and plant life seldom encountered at other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every portrayal of Silwood Park is truthful!
As a spokesperson for this lesser-known community at Imperial, I’d like to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and encompassing habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open grasslands. A query on iNaturalist, an app for charting and sharing biodiversity observations globally with a network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. An additional search on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been identified on campus to date.
Interestingly, Silwood Park is home to numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two prominent projects carried out on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Notable examples include:
- Chicken Club – caring for chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – regularly discussing 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 engage in activities of clubs located in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs involved in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), based either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns such as Bracknell or Ascot.
Apart from club activities and classes, we hold numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates these events to maintain a lively and exciting student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, along with our annual Chinese New Year celebration, during which everyone made dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also had community-organized gatherings celebrating global events (like Carnival) or simply for the joy of parties.
My favorite campus event is the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the quiz losers arrange the next one, and I can proudly claim the highest number of pub quizzes set this year. Despite losing many quizzes due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always good fun with great company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my home away from home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from vibrant civilization (e.g., the train station and the closest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or insufficient. In addition to numerous events and activities, we boast a warm and inviting community of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, more importantly, each other’s presence. We are a closely-knit community that relishes stargazing in the winter chill on the open field near our bar, observing birds and mammals that grace our windows, and spending time with fellow nature enthusiasts.
Most evenings, I cook with my dear friend from India, who shares my passion for Asian cuisine and birdwatching. We’re often joined by friends.