A study of Chinese phenology and its relationship with swallow
An ecological study connecting ancestral phenology to nature's new rhythms
Does traditional Chinese phenology still apply in the modern context? This paper examines how climate change has significantly influenced bird behavior in Beijing , using the shifting return dates of the swallows as a case study. Over the past decade, swallow habits in Beijing have undergone notable changes. Long-term records further reveal that both the green-up of vegetation and the arrival of swallows have advanced due to climate change. Nevertheless, the relationship between the vegetation green-up and swallow arrival remain closely linked.
These findings suggest that traditional Chinese phenological wisdom may still be broadly applicable for understanding the connections between biological life cycles and seasonal rhythms—and the logic of interactions among biological lives—particularly within food webs, though regional variations and ongoing climate change should be taken into account. At the same time, climate change poses serious challenges to the survival of many species including swallows
Independent Research
2022-2025. Beijing
DNA extraction from bacteria protocol
Extract DNA from unknown bacteria, mix it with different solutions and analysis it.
Introduction：We used a Centrifuge to remove excess impurities from the bacterial sample. An electrophoresis apparatus could make the DNA visible. The last, the heater could heat it and discharge the impurities too. Then we uploaded the data sample to the company, which will provide us with a report on the sample.
Procedure: Preparation-Collecting Bacteria-Lysis-Proteinase K Addition-Binding DNA-Ethanol Addition-DNA Purification-Washing-Eluting DNA-Storage.
Results & Discussion: DNA Name: Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain (RB93 16S ribosomal RNA gene, partial sequence).
This kind of bacterial strain was considered a pathogen which can cause disease. It is very commonly seen in our daily lives; they live in water, plants, and soil. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can breach the immune barrier and enter our bodies when our immunity is low. They will undergo massive propagation within our bodies and cause infection. Some common influences include fever, coughing, stethalgia, and yellowish-green phlegm. It can also cause a lot of other painful diseases.
Team Members：
Joan WEI, Miya YAO, Tina HUANG
Teacher:
William A. Jefferson, Doctor Shiva
JPED Academy
2025 Beijing
PBL Project: Automatic Fish Feeder
How can we as students design a fish feeding machine for our school that meet the demand and save time for our campus gardener.
Client:
Our client is a JPED faculty member and his fish. Our goal is to make feeding more convenient for those caring for the fish during Spring break. We found that to keep the fish alive, our teacher must guard and feed them at the fishpond every day. During spring break, the security department still needs to feed the fish. Based on our observations and interviews, our clients urgently need an automatic feeder that dispenses food at regular intervals and at minimal cost. This will save them time.
Design
Our design concept uses a solar panel to power the feeding machine and achieve automated feeding. We also want to ensure that when the feeder dispenses food, the water-moving pump does not operate, so we include a switch. Based on our research, we added a relay between the feeding machine and the water pump so they will not operate at the same time. The design of our machine is inspired by automatic cat feeders. We used a cat feeder as our model because cat feeders are much cheaper than fish feeders. We used the cat feeder as a base and designed a stage to connect it to the pool. We also considered increasing the feeder's capacity so it can operate longer. To achieve this, we created a model that can be printed with a 3D printer.
Team Members：
Joan Wei Miya Yao Sophia Xue Allison Guo
Teacher:
Hongliang ZHOU
JPED Academy
2025 Beijing
Global Citizenship Class: Africa countries poster display
A diverse world. Varied voices. Independent thinking. Shared creation.
Introduction：This is the final exhibition project for our history class, Grade 11. We want to showcase our work from this semester by gathering all the posters we made about different African countries and creating a A0 size map.
We labeled each country with its poster and wrote interesting facts about each one. To make it more interactive, we made two layers: the top layer was cut along the borders so people can lift it and see the information underneath.
Team Members：
Sofia XUE, Miya YAO, Joan Wei, Allen ZHANG
Teacher:
Ryan Myers
JPED Academy
2025 Beijing
