Written by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many students from Imperial envision Silwood Park, they picture a verdant, enchanting campus brimming with unique wildlife and plants rare in other settings like South Kensington or White City. In numerous ways, they are spot on – every vision of Silwood Park is indeed true!
As an ambassador for this lesser-known Imperial community, I aim to showcase the vibrant student life, activities, and camaraderie found at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Discovering Silwood Park
Silwood Park acts as Imperial’s outdoor research environment, covering 77 hectares and comprising ecosystems such as freshwater tributaries, ponds, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive meadows. A brief exploration on iNaturalist, an application for cataloging and disseminating biodiversity insights worldwide with a network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been discovered on-site. Furthermore, a query on eBird reveals that 111 species of birds have been noted on campus to date.
Even more fascinating, Silwood Park is home to numerous long-standing field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project ranking among the more recognized studies conducted here.
Experiencing student life at Silwood Park
The campus mainly serves postgraduate students passionate about ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Many of us engage in various clubs established at Silwood Park. Key examples include:
- Chicken Club – which is responsible for caring for the chickens raised behind our dormitories
- Book Club – convenes regularly to explore books of interest from their reading list
- Gardening Club – oversees the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – coordinates nature walks and conservation events for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also take part in the activities of clubs situated in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs that engage in sports including badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which take 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 coursework, we host a variety of community-led events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates such events, ensuring a dynamic and enjoyable student life! Recently, we’ve held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, and we welcomed the annual Chinese New Year at the year’s start by making dumplings and couplets to embrace the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized parties celebrating global events (like Carnival) or simply for the sake of celebration.
Nevertheless, my favorite event on campus is the weekly pub quiz, arranged by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that those who lose the pub quiz must plan the next one, and I can proudly claim the highest number of quizzes set this year. Even with my frequent losses due to my limited general trivia knowledge, there’s always great laughter with wonderful friends and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Even though 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 ordinary or unexciting. Alongside the myriad events and activities, we have a warm and friendly community of students from various corners of the globe. We all enjoy nature, treasure our lovely campus grounds, and, most importantly, value each other’s company. We’re a close-knit group that loves stargazing in the chilly winter on the open field next to our bar, observing the birds and mammals that