Bonsai Of North America

History of NABF
NABF was formed as a minimal organization to represent the North America region in the World Bonsai Friendship Federation that was officially formed in 1989, but as an international organization that traces its roots to 1970.
World Bonsai Friendship Federation has twice published BONSAI OF THE WORLD in 1993 and in 2001. Ted Tsukiyama of Hawaii has served as the WBFF legal counsel and also as the Editor of Bonsai of the World I & II. In each of these publication, there was a summary article from each international WBFF region. The articles "Bonsai in North America" from the two issues are reproduced below to acquaint all NABF supporters via "snapshots from our past." Both articles are compiled reports from throughout the regions by David Fukumoto, who was the Assistant Editor of Bonsai of the World II, and is the current NABF editor.
An introduction to Bonsai in North America (1997)
Information for this article was requested from various members of the WBFF North American region and the information received was compiled into an article that was submitted in 1997. However, due to difficulties, BOTW II was not published to the summer of 2001 and some of the information is, therefore, outdated. The article is reproduced as submitted.
WBFF plans to publish BONSAI OF THE WORLD III in 2005 for sale at the start of the World Bonsai Convention in Washington DC in 2005. For that issue, the NABF Editorial Team will submit an article presenting an overview of our region's activities and highlights from a 2005 perspective.
The NABF Editorial Team is now being organized and a current 2002 NABF status report will be compiled from short blurbs submitted by the NABF Regional Editorial Teams and this will be posted in the coming months.
Additionally, the NABF Editorial Team will compile, edit, and produce a BONSAI IN NORTH AMERICA booklet of about 100 pages to be published prior to World Bonsai Convention in Washington DC in 2005 to serve as a kind of NABF "year-book" to be published every four years. ~~~David W. Fukumoto, NABF Editor, August 11, 2002
BONSAI IN NORTH AMERICA (1997)
The North America Bonsai Federation (NABF) includes Bonsai Clubs International, which is active internationally; the American Bonsai Society, which has members mainly throughout the United States; regional organizations that coordinate the activities of local clubs; non-profit organizations affiliated with public bonsai collections; and the larger clubs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
With such a diversity of existing bonsai organizations, there was agreement that it was desirable to form the North American Bonsai Federation, a limited purpose organization to primarily serve as a liaison between the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF) and the member organizations. We all also agreed that bonsai master John Naka of California should be the president and representative delegate to the WBFF.
Our region includes the tropics of Hawaii, Florida and Mexico; colder Alaska and Canada; and all climatic zones between. A huge number of plant varieties are grown with varying care to suit each locale. Because they require less care, tropical indoor bonsai are becoming increasingly popular. Led by many pioneers like Dr. Bertram Breunner of Washington State, Ernesta Ballard of Pennsylvania, the late Haruo "Papa" Kaneshiro of Hawaii, John Naka of California, and many others, an American form of bonsai is emerging that includes all forms of artistic pot plants.
Americans tend to be creative individuals and most bonsai hobbyists do not join clubs. They may have just one or two bonsai that they treat very casually or large collections of very creative artistic pot plants that are trained using various combinations of Japanese, Chinese, tropical, and international concepts.

THE GROWING NUMBER OF PUBLIC BONSAI COLLECTIONS
America has a very transient society in which children rarely follow in the footsteps of their parents. As American lifestyle changes, children are not willing or able to take over family bonsai collections. Bonsai need consistent skilled care and a public repository is often the best solution when there is no one to carry on. The early public bonsai collections on the East Coast at Arnold Arboretum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden have been joined by collections at Longwood Garden, and others.
Each new public bonsai collection is created for different reasons, in different support groups, and funded in different ways. The Pacific Rim Collection in Federal Way, Washington, was funded by a single major patron with specimens purchased from throughout the country. The collection is maintained by a private foundation and there is no admission fee. Nearby, Elandan, featuring the Dan Robinson collection, is supported by an admission fee and income from its gift shop. In Vancouver, B.C., the Sun Yat Classical Chinese Garden features "penjing" from the Wu Eye-Sun Collection on display from June through October. Admission is free.

Source:http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/nabf/history.htm