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 flora not typically found at our other campuses like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every portrayal of Silwood Park is true!
As a spokesperson for this lesser-known community within Imperial, I aim to shed light on the student experiences, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
A glimpse into Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and showcasing ecosystems like freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A brief search on iNaturalist, an application for documenting and sharing biodiversity sightings worldwide within a network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. Furthermore, a query on eBird shows that 111 bird species have been identified on campus to date.
Notably, Silwood Park also hosts numerous long-term field research endeavors, including the renowned Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project.
Life as a student at Silwood Park
The campus predominantly accommodates postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution research. Many of us engage in several clubs located at Silwood Park. Some prominent examples include:
- Chicken Club – caring for the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – regularly engaging in discussions about books on their reading list
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also involve ourselves in activities of clubs situated in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs participating in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), utilizing the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Apart from club activities and classes, we have numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park features its own student council that organizes and manages these activities, ensuring an engaging and lively student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks. We also marked the Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, making dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. Community-organized parties to celebrate global events (like Carnival) or simply for the joy of gathering have also taken place.
However, my favorite campus event is the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that the quiz losers prepare 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 many pub quizzes due to my poor general knowledge, there’s always delight in good company and a quality pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from vibrant civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or lacking. In addition to the abundant events and activities, we enjoy a warm and inclusive community of students from all corners of the globe. We cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, most importantly, each other’s company. We’re a close-knit community that delights in stargazing in the winter chill on the open field near our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our windows, and spending