Written by Clarence (Singapore), MSc Living Planet with Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
When the majority of Imperial students picture Silwood Park, they think of a vibrant, mysterious, and green campus filled with wildlife and vegetation rarely seen at other locations like South Kensington or White City. In many ways, they are right—every depiction of Silwood Park is accurate!
As a member of this less-publicized community at Imperial, I wish to showcase the student life, activities, and community present at our natural parkland campus located in Ascot, Berkshire.
Welcome to Silwood Park
Silwood Park acts as Imperial’s outdoor research facility, covering 77 hectares and composed of environments such as freshwater streams, lakes, an “ancient” woodland, and expansive grasslands. A quick look on iNaturalist, a platform for recording and sharing biodiversity insights worldwide with a social network of naturalists, indicates that 1,436 species of plants, animals, and fungi have been recorded on the campus. Moreover, eBird indicates that 111 species of birds have been cataloged on campus thus far.
Interestingly, Silwood Park is also home to many long-term research endeavors, with the Nash’s Field Experiment and the Blue Tit Project being two of the more distinguished studies carried out on the premises.
Life as a Student at Silwood Park
The campus mainly accommodates postgraduate students focused on ecology, conservation, and evolution studies. Many of us take active roles in various clubs situated at Silwood Park. Key examples include:
- Chicken Club – caring for the chickens raised behind our residences
- Book Club – meeting regularly to discuss interesting reads
- Gardening Club – overseeing the plots in our shared garden
- Conservation Club – arranging nature walks and conservation initiatives for students at Silwood Park Campus.
As part of the broader Imperial student community, many of us also engage in activities with clubs based in South Kensington!
Unformally, we have clubs involving sports such as badminton, basketball, and pickleball (my favorite!), either on the multi-use games area (MUGA) on campus or at indoor sports facilities in nearby towns like Bracknell or Ascot.
Beyond club activities and classes, we host a variety of community-driven events on campus. Silwood Park boasts its own student council that organizes and facilitates such events to ensure a lively and engaging student life! Recently, we held the Silwood language exchange, where our international community shared languages and cultures over several weeks, and our annual Chinese New Year celebration, where everyone made dumplings and couplets to ring in the new lunar year. We’ve also organized community gatherings to celebrate global festivities (such as Carnival) or simply for the joy of having a party.
However, my favorite event on campus is the weekly pub quiz, organized by our student community. A tradition at Silwood is that the losing quiz teams must host the next one, and I can proudly claim the highest number of quizzes hosted this year. Despite losing many quizzes due to my lackluster general knowledge, there’s always plenty of fun with great friends and a good pint of beer.
Silwood Park: My Home Away from Home
Although it’s a 30-minute stroll from the lively buzz of civilization (e.g., the train station and the nearest village), life at Silwood Park has never felt monotonous or insufficient. In addition to the myriad of events and activities, we enjoy a friendly and inviting community of students from around the globe. We all share a passion for nature, our picturesque campus grounds, and, most significantly, each other’s company. We form a close-knit community that delights in stargazing in the chilly winter evenings on the open field beside our bar, watching the birds and mammals that visit our windows, and spending time with fellow nature enthusiasts.
Most evenings,