Written by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a lush, enigmatic, and green campus filled with wildlife and plants seldom seen at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In many ways, they’re right—every image envisioned of Silwood Park is precise!
As a member of this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I want to emphasize the student life, activities, and community within our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Presenting Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and consisting of ecosystems including freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick exploration on iNaturalist, an application for documenting and sharing biodiversity insights globally with an online network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, and an additional search on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been so far noted.
More fascinatingly, Silwood Park also hosts numerous long-term field research endeavors, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent projects undertaken on-site.
Student Life at Silwood Park
This campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students engaged in ecology, conservation, and evolutionary studies. Many of us participate in various clubs located at Silwood Park. Some noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – looking after the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – meeting regularly to discuss interesting books
- Gardening Club – tending to the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation-related activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, numerous individuals also take part in activities organized by clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs focused on sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), held either at 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 lessons, we enjoy numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates such events, guaranteeing a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community shared various languages and cultures over several weeks, as well as our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, where everyone came together to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Additionally, community-organized parties have celebrated global events (like Carnival) or simply gathered for the enjoyment of festivities.
However, my favorite campus occasion is undoubtedly the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the losers of the pub quiz set up the next one, and I can proudly claim the record for the most quizzes set this year. Despite frequent losses due to my lacking general trivia knowledge, there’s always fun to be had with delightful company and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Home Away from Home
Although it is 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 insufficient. Alongside a myriad of events and activities, we share a friendly and hospitable community made up of students from all corners of the globe. We all appreciate nature, our stunning campus, and, most importantly, each other’s company. We form a close-knit community that loves stargazing in the chill of winter on the open field beside our bar, observing the birds and