Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When most students at Imperial picture Silwood Park, they think of a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus filled with wildlife and plants rarely found at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they’re correct – every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As an advocate for this lesser-known part of Imperial, I aim to showcase the student experience, activities, and community at our natural parkland campus in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and encompassing habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, a platform for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations with an online community of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus, while an inquiry on eBird has shown that 111 bird species have been documented there to date.
Interestingly, Silwood Park also hosts 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 accommodates postgraduate students focused on projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us take part in several clubs located at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples are:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens raised behind our student residences
- Book Club – who regularly convene to discuss intriguing books from their reading selections
- Gardening Club – which oversees the allotments within our community garden
- Conservation Club – who plan nature excursions and conservation-related activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
Being part of the expansive Imperial student body, a lot of us also engage in activities from clubs based in South Kensington!
Informally, we host clubs dedicated to sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which take place either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and lectures, we host numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities, fostering a lively and dynamic student life! In recent months, we’ve held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community gathered to share languages and cultures over several weeks, and we also marked the Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, making dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Additionally, we’ve organized community parties celebrating global events (such as Carnival), or simply parties held for the love of festivities.
However, my favorite campus event would have to be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that those who lose the pub quiz are responsible for setting the next one, and I can proudly assert that I hold the record for the most pub quizzes set this year. Despite failing numerous pub quizzes due to my less-than-stellar general trivia knowledge, there’s always great fun to be had with enjoyable company and a refreshing 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 felt dull or lacking. Along with the many events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community made up of students from all corners of the globe. We all share a passion for nature, appreciate our stunning campus grounds, and, more importantly, savor the time spent together.