Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet specializing in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus bustling with flora and fauna rarely found at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park rings true!
As a spokesperson for this relatively unknown community within Imperial, I wish to underscore the student experience, activities, and camaraderie at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introduction to Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and showcasing habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A straightforward inquiry on iNaturalist, an application dedicated to mapping and sharing biodiversity observations with a global network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. Additionally, a search on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been documented thus far.
More intriguingly, Silwood Park hosts numerous long-term field research projects, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more notable initiatives conducted on-site.
Life as a Student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly houses postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Most of us engage in a variety of clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – who tend to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who meet regularly to discuss captivating reads
- Gardening Club – who oversee the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation-related activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us are also active members and frequently participate in clubs based in South Kensington!
Additionally, we have informal clubs that engage in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), typically held either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports venues in nearby towns such as Bracknell or Ascot.
Beyond club activities and classes, we have numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park features its own student council responsible for organizing and facilitating these activities, ensuring a lively and enjoyable student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our largely international community came together to share languages and cultures over several weeks, as well as our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, where everyone collaborated to make dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. We’ve also seen community-organized parties to celebrate global events (like Carnival) or simply for the joy of having a good time.
However, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, orchestrated by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood tradition that the teams who lose the pub quiz organize the next one, and I can proudly say I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Despite failing multiple pub quizzes because of my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always a chance for enjoyment with great company and a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though it’s a 30-minute walk away from the lively atmosphere of civilization (like the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never been boring or lacking. Along with the many events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community made up of students from various parts of the globe. We all cherish nature, adore our stunning campus grounds, and, more importantly, each other’s company. We form a tight-knit community that delights in stargazing during the winter.