Authored by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students visualize Silwood Park, they picture a verdant, enigmatic, and green campus brimming with fauna and flora that are rarely seen at our other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are right – every depiction of Silwood Park is indeed true!
As a spokesperson for this lesser-known community at Imperial, I would like to showcase the student experience, activities, and camaraderie at our natural parkland campus situated in Ascot, Berkshire.
Introducing Silwood Park
Silwood Park serves as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, encompassing 77 hectares and showcasing environments like freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick search on iNaturalist, an app where users can chart and exchange biodiversity observations globally within a network of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been cataloged on campus. Additionally, an eBird search shows that 111 bird species have been recorded on site to date.
Moreover, Silwood Park is home to numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project standing out as two of the more recognized studies conducted here.
Student life at Silwood Park
The campus primarily hosts postgraduate students who are engaged in projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park, including:
- Chicken Club – responsible for the care of the chickens reared behind our halls of residence
- Book Club – which meets regularly to discuss books from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – tending to the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – who arrange nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student body, many of us are also active members of clubs based in South Kensington!
Casually, we also have groups that participate in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), which take place either on the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or at the indoor sports halls located in neighboring towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club events and classes, we enjoy numerous community-led gatherings on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates these activities to foster a lively and engaging student atmosphere! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly 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 united to prepare dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. We’ve also had community-organized events celebrating various global festivities (such as Carnival) or simply parties held for the joy of celebrating.
<pNevertheless, my favorite campus event has to be the weekly pub quiz, coordinated by our student community. It's a Silwood tradition that the losing team of the pub quiz must arrange the next one, and I can proudly declare the most quizzes set this year. Despite losing many pub quizzes due to my limited general knowledge, I always have a great time with wonderful company and a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my home away from home
Although it is a 30-minute walk from the lively rhythm of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt dull or devoid of excitement. In addition to the various events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inclusive community made up of students from across the globe.