Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they see a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus bustling with wildlife and vegetation rarely found at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a member of this lesser-known faction at Imperial, I wish to shed light on the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and exhibiting ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, a platform for documenting and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide through a network of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, with an additional search on eBird indicating that 111 bird species have been registered to date.
Interesting to note, Silwood Park is also home to numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being among the more recognized studies conducted on-site.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily hosts postgraduate students with interests in projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Most of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens located behind our halls of residence
- Book Club – convening regularly to discuss intriguing literature
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation-focused activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us also engage in activities organized by clubs in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs that partake in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (which happens to be my favorite!), hosted either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports venues in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
In addition to club activities and classes, we enjoy numerous community-led events on campus. Silwood Park has its very own student council that organizes and facilitates such activities to ensure a lively and enjoyable student experience! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community swapped languages and cultures over a few weeks, and we also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year event at the year’s outset, where everyone gathered to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also experienced community-organized celebrations for global events (like Carnival) or parties simply for the joy of celebrating.
However, my favorite campus event surely has to be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a Silwood tradition that the losers of the pub quiz are responsible for hosting the next one, and I can proudly claim the title for the most quizzes set this year. Although I’ve lost many pub quizzes due to my limited knowledge of general trivia, there’s always a great time to be had with wonderful 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 ambiance of civilization (for instance, the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or lacking. Beyond the myriad of events and activities, we nurture a friendly and inclusive community consisting of students from across the globe. We all cherish nature, appreciate our stunning campus landscape, and, more importantly, enjoy each other’s company. We’re a