Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a vibrant, enigmatic, and green campus filled with wildlife and plant life not often encountered at our other locations like South Kensington or White City. In several respects, they’re correct – and each depiction of Silwood Park holds truth!
As a representative of this lesser-known faction at Imperial, I aim to underscore the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus situated in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research space, encompassing 77 hectares and showcasing ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and wide open grasslands. A brief query on iNaturalist, an app designed for cataloging and sharing biodiversity findings globally with a network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. Furthermore, a search on eBird reveals that 111 species of birds have been noted on campus to date.
Remarkably, Silwood Park is also the host for various long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent studies taking place on-site.
Life as a student at Silwood Park
The campus predominantly houses postgraduate students keen on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us engage in several clubs based at Silwood Park. Notable examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for the care of the chickens kept behind our residence halls
- Book Club – convening regularly to explore and discuss books from their reading list
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – coordinating nature walks and environmentally focused activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
Being part of the broader Imperial student body, numerous members also partake in activities of clubs located in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs involved in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (which happens to be my personal favorite!), utilizing the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club functions and coursework, we host various community-led events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates such initiatives to cultivate a lively and engaging student atmosphere! Recently, we organized the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community united to share languages and cultures over several weeks. Our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year was another highlight, where everyone gathered to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also hosted community-organized parties honoring festivities from around the globe (such as Carnival) or simply hosted parties for the sheer joy of gathering.
My preferred campus event, however, must be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the losers of the quiz must arrange the next one, and I can proudly claim the record for the most pub quizzes set this year. Despite losing many pub quizzes due to my subpar general trivia knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment to be found with good friends and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my sanctuary away from home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively allure of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or deficient. Beyond the abundant events and activities, we share a warm and inclusive community made up of students from around the globe. We all cherish nature, love our