Greater Expectations: The American Forest’s Potential

Duration: 0:28:33

Year Published: 1980s

Sound: sound

Description: Greater Expectations is a 1980s educational film presented by the American Forest Institute that strives to educate the viewer about the importance of forest management. The narrator is famous actor and tree farmer Andy Griffith, who was a member of the American Tree Farm System and who maintained a private farm in North Carolina with the help of forester Quentin Bell. Griffith, along with actress Andie MacDowell, musician Chuck Leavell, and former President Jimmy Carter, made numerous PSAs and short films about the methods, benefits, and setbacks of tree farming. In this film, Griffith describes numerous threats facing the renewable resource, including population increase, decaying wood, and poor tree management. He also encourages community engagement and private tree farming to ensure timber production for future generations.