Written by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus bustling with wildlife and plants that are not typically observed at our other campuses such as South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are correct – every portrayal of Silwood Park is true!
As a representative of this lesser-known faction of Imperial, I wish to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Welcome to Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor lab, covering 77 hectares and includes habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and open grasslands. A brief search on iNaturalist, an app designed for mapping and sharing biodiversity findings with a global network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, with eBird indicating that 111 bird species have been documented thus far.
Interestingly, Silwood Park accommodates numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more prominent studies carried out on-site.
Campus Life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily houses postgraduate students with interests in ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Most of us take part in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – tending to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – frequently meeting to discuss interesting books
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the larger Imperial student body, many of us also engage in activities of clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs participating in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), taking place 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 classes, we host many community-led events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities, ensuring a lively and exciting student life! Recently, we had the Silwood language exchange, where our mostly international community exchanged languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also welcomed the new lunar year by celebrating Chinese New Year, making dumplings and couplets. There have also been community-organized parties celebrating global festivities (like Carnival) or simply held for the joy of socializing.
My preferred campus event is the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s part of Silwood culture that the quiz losers must prepare the next one, and I can proudly say I hold the record for the most pub quizzes set this year. Even after losing numerous pub quizzes due to my lack of general trivia knowledge, there’s always fun to be had with great company and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Home Away from Home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk from the lively atmosphere of civilization (like the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or deficient. Beyond the multitude of events and activities, we have a friendly and welcoming community of students from diverse backgrounds. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, most importantly, each other’s company. We’re a tight-knit community that enjoys stargazing in the chilly winter on the open field beside our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our room windows, and spending time with fellow nature enthusiasts.