Page 36 - Demo

Scenes from the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in the northern Ilocos Norte region of the Philippines.
Upper left; the new MMSU School of Bonsai
Upper right; Mr. Yen Tzu-Ching illustrating styling techniques.
Far upper right; BCI president Tom Elias and MMSU President Mariam E. Pascua
Middle right; Augusto P. Rustia, President of the Philippine Bonsai Society and MMSU President Mariam E. Pascua
Lower left and lower right; Mr. Tang Chin-Feng conducting a styling demonstration for students and faculty.
Bantigue (Pemphis acidula). This native habitat is now protected and several people are engaged in develop- ing propagation techniques for this important species in Philippine bonsai culture. The mayor of Batac City hosted our group for lunch at her home. She and her husband have a bonsai garden that would be the envy of any leading bonsai artist worldwide.
The next day, the university had arranged a day-long seminar on bonsai culture in the University Training Center for students and interested faculty members. The center was filled with people eager to learn more about bonsai. Yen Tzu-ching presented a lecture on bonsai culture followed by demonstration by Yen and his colleague Tang Chin-Feng. This was followed by a demonstration on two trees by Budi Sulistyo. After the demonstrations, Tom Elias presented President Pascua with several copies of BCI Bonsai and Stone Appreciation Magazine and informed Madame Pascua and faculty that the new bonsai program would be receiving a year’s membership in BCI so they can con- tinue to receive our magazine in the coming year. The delegation then toured the newly designated building and grounds of the new bonsai program.
How you can help
This fledging program in bonsai needs the help of BCI. An important way, we can help is to donate bon- sai related books in good condition to the program. A library of bonsai references, including how-to-books will greatly benefit the eager young students enrolled in this program. Please contract BCI president Tom Elias as tselias@msn.com if you would like to donate one or more books for this program.
The combination of the 41st National Bonsai Exhi- bition & Competition and the visit to Mariano Marcos State University was an eye opening experience. The quality of the bonsai at the exhibition and in private collections is truly outstanding. The enthusiasm of so many young and middle-aged people means a bright future for bonsai in the Philippines. And, the close working relationships with bonsai masters in Taiwan and Indonesia provides them with the instructional leadership needed for their continued development. Finally, the wealth of high quality stones and the ea- gerness of the stone society to learn more about as- pects of stone appreciation translates into an equally bright future for stone connoisseurs worldwide.
34 | BCI | October/November/December 2014