Written by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When many Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they envision a lush, enigmatic, and green campus brimming with wildlife and plant species seldom found on other campuses such as South Kensington or White City. In many ways, they are right—every depiction of Silwood Park holds true!
As a member of this lesser-known community at Imperial, I aim to showcase the student life, activities, and spirit of our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Welcome to Silwood Park
Silwood Park acts as Imperial’s outdoor laboratory, covering 77 hectares and encompassing habitats such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” forest, and expansive grasslands. A quick look on iNaturalist, an app dedicated to mapping and sharing biodiversity observations worldwide with a network of naturalists, shows that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on campus. Furthermore, a search on eBird reveals that 111 bird species have been documented in the area.
More significantly, Silwood Park is home to various long-term field research initiatives, including the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project, two of the more recognized studies conducted on-site.
Student Life at Silwood Park
The campus mainly hosts postgraduate students focusing on ecology, conservation, and evolution projects. Many of us engage in several clubs based at Silwood Park. Some noteworthy examples are:
- Chicken Club – taking care of chickens raised behind our residence halls
- Book Club – regularly engaging in discussions about selected readings from their list
- Gardening Club – overseeing the allotments in our community garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation activities for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the wider Imperial student body, many of us are also members and active participants in clubs located in South Kensington!
Casually, we have clubs that engage in sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my personal favorite!), based either at the multi-use games arena (MUGA) on campus or in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Besides club events and classes, we host several community-led activities on campus. Silwood Park features its own student council that organizes and facilitates these events to maintain a lively and enjoyable student experience! Recently, we’ve had the Silwood language exchange, where our predominantly international community exchanged languages and cultures over several weeks, and our traditional Chinese New Year celebration at the beginning of the year, where everyone came together to prepare dumplings and couplets to ring in the new lunar year. We’ve also enjoyed community-organized parties celebrating global occasions (like Carnival) or simply for the joy of gathering.
My favorite event on campus, however, is the weekly pub quiz hosted by our student community. It’s become a part of Silwood culture that the team with the lowest score must organize the next quiz, and I can proudly say I have set the highest number of quizzes this year. Despite losing many quizzes due to my lack of general trivia knowledge, there’s always great enjoyment 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 energy of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never seemed dull or lacking. In addition to the countless events and activities, we have a friendly and inviting community made up of students from all corners of the globe. We all love nature, appreciate our beautiful campus grounds, and, above all, enjoy each other’s company. We’re a close-knit group that likes stargazing in the winter chill on the open field next to our bar, observing the birds and mammals that visit our windows, and spending quality time with fellow nature enthusiasts.
Most evenings