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 brimming with wildlife and flora that are not often found in other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they are correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a voice from this lesser-known corner of Imperial, I want to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
A glimpse of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s open-air laboratory, encompassing 77 hectares and showcasing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, a platform for documenting and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide with a community of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while an additional search on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been observed on-site thus far.
Moreover, Silwood Park is the backdrop for numerous long-term field research initiatives, with projects like the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more distinguished studies taking place here.
Student experiences at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students focused on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us take part in several clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – meeting regularly to discuss intriguing books from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments within our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation-focused activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student populace, many of us also engage in activities organized by clubs situated in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs dedicated to sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my favorite!), usually based 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, there are numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities, fostering a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we conducted the Silwood language exchange, where our largely international community came together to share languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also celebrated Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year by making dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also hosted community-coordinated parties in celebration of global festivities (such as Carnival) or parties simply for the love of fun.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that the team who loses the pub quiz is responsible for organizing the next one, and I can proudly say that I have set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Although I’ve lost many pub quizzes due to my lack of general trivia knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment to be found with wonderful company and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively hustle of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearby village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or lacking. In addition to the various events and activities, we have a warm, inviting community made up of students from around the globe. We all share a love for nature, value our stunning campus grounds, and, most importantly, enjoy each other’s company. We are a