Mr. Bareis' interest in bamboo first developed when he was serving a traditional five-year carpenter/architect apprenticeship in Japan and living in a village outside Kyoto from 1969-1980. He met Dr. Koichiro Uedo of Kyoto University and became interested in bamboo which has so many practical and artistic uses.

He has organized botanical expeditions to Yunnan, China under the auspices of Southwest Forestry College in Kunming and with his wife has organized and guided trips focused on bamboo and art to Japan, Bali, and Costa Rica.

Mr. Bareis co-founded the International Bamboo Association in 1993. He is a founding member of the Japan Bamboo Society of Saratoga and a past president and current board member of the Northern California chapter of the American Bamboo Society. Currently he does international consulting, lectures, and leads workshops on the cultivation, propagation, species identification, and practical uses of this versatile plant.