Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they imagine a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus bustling with wildlife and plant life seldom found at other locations such as South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are spot on – every image evoked of Silwood Park is true!
As a spokesperson for this lesser-known faction within Imperial, I want to showcase the student experience, activities, and community within our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Overview of Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and featuring ecosystems such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick inquiry on iNaturalist, an app for charting and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide within a network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. A further exploration on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been noted on campus thus far.
Moreover, Silwood Park is home to a variety of long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more distinguished projects undertaken here.
Life as a Student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students engaged in projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Most of us take part in several clubs formed at Silwood Park. Noteworthy examples are:
- Chicken Club – tending to the chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – meeting regularly to engage in discussions about interesting books
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our communal garden
- Conservation Club – coordinating nature walks and conservation initiatives for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As members of the larger Imperial student body, many of us also join in on activities organized by clubs in South Kensington!
Informally, we have clubs involved in sports like badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), taking place either on 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 lessons, we host several community-led events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that coordinates and facilitates such activities, promoting a vibrant and dynamic student life! Recently, we’ve held the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community exchanged languages and cultures over several weeks, as well as our annual Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, where everyone gathered to make dumplings and couplets to usher in the new lunar year. We’ve also organized community parties celebrating various global events (like Carnival) or simply parties for the joy of celebration.
However, my favorite campus occasion must be the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. It’s a part of Silwood culture that the losing team of the pub quiz is responsible for setting the next one, and I can proudly say I have set the most pub quizzes this year. Despite losing many pub quizzes due to my lacking general knowledge, there’s always a great time to be had in good company over a nice pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Second Home
Even though it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively essence of civilization (for instance, the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or deficient. Beyond the plethora of events and activities, we have a warm and inviting community composed of students from all corners of the globe. We all cherish nature, our stunning campus grounds, and, most importantly, each other’s companionship. We’re a close-knit community that takes pleasure in stargazing during the chilly winter nights on the open field next to our bar, watching the