Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a verdant, enchanting, and green campus rich with wildlife and flora that are rare at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In numerous respects, they are correct – and every vision of Silwood Park is true!
As an advocate for this lesser-known segment of Imperial, I wish to emphasize the student experience, activities, and community at our nature-filled campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
A brief overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and featuring ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick look on iNaturalist, a platform for documenting and sharing observations of biodiversity worldwide within a social network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been cataloged on campus. Additionally, a search on eBird shows that 111 bird species have been observed on the premises to date.
Furthermore, Silwood Park hosts numerous long-term research projects, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more prominent studies conducted here.
Student experience at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students engaging in ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Many of us are involved in various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens kept behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who meet regularly to discuss titles of interest from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments within our community garden
- Conservation Club – who coordinate nature walks and conservation-focused activities for the student body on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us are also involved with and actively participate in the activities of clubs located in South Kensington!
Additionally, we have informal clubs that partake in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which take place either on the multi-use games area (MUGA) on campus or in the indoor sports facilities found in nearby towns such as Bracknell or Ascot.
Beyond club activities and classes, there are numerous community-led events occurring on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and manages these happenings to ensure we maintain a dynamic and engaging student life! Recently, we hosted a Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community united to share our languages and cultures over several weeks, and we celebrated our annual Chinese New Year fiesta at the beginning of the year, where everyone participated in making dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We have also enjoyed community-organized events in honor of various global celebrations (like Carnival), or simply parties convened for the joy of gathering.
However, my favorite event on campus is undoubtedly the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s a Silwood custom that the losing team from the pub quiz must organize the next one, and I can proudly claim the title for the most quizzes set this year. Despite my repeated losses due to my lack of general trivia knowledge, there’s always fun to be had in great company with a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it is a 30-minute walk from the vibrant activities of civilization (such as the train station and the closest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or insufficient. In addition to the countless events and activities, we have a welcoming and