Different programs probably be have their own ways of decimanating gardening information. At the phone desk here, if a person had a few tomato problems, we would flip through the cabinet of handouts, find something that might help, read it to them and offer to send the info to them along with a message from the extension agent. If they needed names of arborists, we would send a list of those recommended. If something was eating their roses and they wanted to kill them, we would send a list of organic ways to treat and also chemicals that could keep them in check. Nearly everything that was asked of the person at the desk was answered by offering to send information to them by the ext. agent.
We would get some fairly strange requests and questions. "When can you come out and plant a couple of trees for me?" "Can you send someone out from the tv station to do a story on my tangerine tree because no one is supposed to be able to grow them here?" And so on. We would tell those asking for free labor that we were there to offer information but still try to give them suggestions where to look for someone to plant a tree. All calls that came in were answered courteously, even when the callers weren't pleasant, and some were really bizarre.
Of course, this was in prehistoric time before we were allowed to access the gigantic office computer. Now I'm sure it's much easier to pull it up on a computer, hopefully at the info desk.
As for being "cliquish," that would be like herding cats! MGs are people who love to garden, some who do and some who need to learn how. Farmers, apartment dwellers, animal lovers, deer haters, organic gardeners, and those who kill anything that crawled, all wanting to learn a little more and hopefully help others be successful in their gardens. I would liken MGs to any group of people who come together. You like some and and you don't care to be around others. You wouldn't leave ATP because a few people were "know it alls." You'd just distance yourself from them.
As for the title "Master Gardener," I have to giggle if someone believes it after three or four months of lectures. When I go back through photos of my garden, I see more plants that I have killed, than survivors! Now I'm stepping off my tiny soapbox and going out into my hail damaged backyard to salvage what's left.
