Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a verdant, enchanting, and green campus brimming with wildlife and flora that are rarely observed at our other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re accurate – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a representative of this lesser-known community within Imperial, I would like to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park acts as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and showcasing environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and open fields. A quick search on iNaturalist, a platform for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations across the globe within an online community of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, with an additional search on eBird revealing that 111 bird species have been noted to date.
Furthermore, Silwood Park hosts numerous long-term field research initiatives, with notable studies including the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project among the well-known projects carried out on-site.
Life as a student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly houses postgraduate scholars interested in ecology, conservation, and evolutionary projects. Many of us participate in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some prominent examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for the care of the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who meet regularly to discuss interesting literature
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation-related events for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also engage in activities with clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs focused on sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which take place either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports facilities located in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club engagements and classes, there are numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that coordinates and supports such events to promote a lively and thrilling student atmosphere! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our diverse international community gathered to exchange languages and cultures over several weeks, and we celebrated our annual Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, where everyone united to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized parties commemorating global events (like Carnival) or simply gatherings for the joy of socializing.
However, my favorite event on campus is undoubtedly the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood tradition that the team losing the pub quiz must set up the next one, and I can proudly assert that I hold the record for the most pub quizzes organized this year. Despite losing many pub quizzes owing to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always a great time to be had with wonderful company and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Although it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively atmosphere of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed monotonous or unexciting. Alongside the various events and activities, we enjoy a warm and inviting community made up of students from various parts of the globe. All of us cherish nature and appreciate our stunning campus.