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 brimming with wildlife and vegetation not frequently found at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many respects, they are accurate – and every depiction of Silwood Park holds truth!
As a representative of this lesser-explored community within Imperial, I wish to emphasize 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, covering 77 hectares and featuring diverse habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and open meadows. A straightforward inquiry on iNaturalist, an application for mapping and sharing biodiversity observations globally with a social network of naturalists, reveals that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. An additional search on eBird indicates that 111 bird species have been observed on campus to date.
More fascinatingly, Silwood Park hosts numerous long-term field research initiatives, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more recognized studies carried out on-site.
Student Experience at Silwood Park
The campus primarily accommodates postgraduate students engaged in projects related to ecology, conservation, and evolution. Many of us belong to various clubs based at Silwood Park. Some notable examples include:
- Chicken Club – responsible for caring for the chickens kept behind our residence halls
- Book Club – who meet regularly to converse about books of interest from their reading lists
- Gardening Club – managing the plots in our community garden
- Conservation Club – organizing nature walks and conservation activities for students on Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also join and actively engage in activities of clubs located in South Kensington!
Casually, we also have clubs that partake in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), taking place either on the multi-use games area (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Alongside club activities and classes, we host numerous community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park has its own student council dedicated to organizing and facilitating such activities, ensuring an animated and exhilarating student life! Recently, we hosted the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community came together to share languages and cultures over a series of weeks. We also celebrated our annual Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, where everyone collaborated to craft dumplings and couplets to welcome the new lunar year. Moreover, we’ve organized community parties commemorating events from around the globe (like Carnival), or just parties for the sheer joy of it.
However, my personal highlight on campus must be the weekly pub quiz, orchestrated by our student community. It’s part of Silwood tradition that the quiz losers must organize the subsequent one, and I can proudly declare I’ve set the highest number of pub quizzes this year. Despite flunking numerous quizzes due to my inadequate general knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment in good company and a refreshing pint of beer.
Silwood Park: my second home
Although situated a 30-minute stroll from the lively essence of civilization (e.g., the railway station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed tedious or lacking. Beyond the multitude of events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inviting community made up of students from all over the