Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When most students from Imperial think of Silwood Park, they picture a vibrant, enchanting, and green campus alive with wildlife and plants that are rarely encountered at other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – and every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a member of this lesser-known community at Imperial, I wish to showcase the student experience, activities, and camaraderie present at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Getting to know Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and featuring ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick inquiry on iNaturalist, an app dedicated to mapping and sharing biodiversity observations with a global network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. An additional search on eBird shows that 111 bird species have been noted on campus to date.
Notably, Silwood Park is the venue for numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more recognized studies conducted here.
Life as a student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students with a focus on ecology, conservation, and evolutionary projects. Many of us engage in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – tending to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – meeting regularly to discuss books of interest
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation-related activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the broader Imperial community, many of us also take part in activities from clubs located in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs that engage 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 host many community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates such events to maintain a lively and engaging student environment! Recently, we’ve held the Silwood language exchange, where our diverse international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks. We also welcomed the Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, making dumplings and couplets to celebrate the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve had community-organized parties celebrating global events like Carnival or gatherings simply for the joy of celebrations.
However, my favorite campus event is the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that the individuals who lose the pub quiz get to organize the next one, and I can proudly state that I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Even with my frequent losses in pub quizzes due to a lack of general trivia knowledge, there’s always enjoyment with great company and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from the bustling life of civilization (for instance, the train station and the nearest village), existence at Silwood Park has never felt dull or lacking. Beyond the multitude of events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inviting community of students from around the globe. We all share a passion for nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, more importantly, each other’s company. We are a tight-knit community that relishes stargazing in the winter chill on the open field beside our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our windows, and spending time