Blogs

The European Commission has published an In-depth Report on Environmental Citizen Science (December 2013) as part of its Science for Environmental Policy programme. Refers to natural history museums a number of times.

Common Cause for Nature is a couple of reports from an NGO angle on segmentation, motivations, attitudes, communications, engagement and interests for public attitudes to nature in the UK from an NGO/advocacy perspective.  Full Report and Practitioners Guide

There is a loose UK network of organisations collecting and communicating data.  A key focus is the UK Defra Non-Native Species Secretariat (NNSS)
Recording Invasive Species Counts (RISC) programme.  In collaboration with the NERC CEH - Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (the Biological Records Centre) - it provides reporting software that gathers information - with links to the National Biodiversity Network.  Species and corresponding organisations collaborating in RISC are: /more.....Animals:

• Muntjac deer - the Mammal Society, The People's Trust for Endangered species,
• Zebra mussel - The Conchological Society,
• Mitten crab - The Marine Biological Association of the UK,
• American bullfrog - Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
• Citrus longhorn beetle - Food and Environment Research Agency
  
• Western conifer seedbug - Terrestrial Heteroptera Recording Scheme for GB and Ireland
  
• Southern green shieldbug - Terrestrial Heteroptera Recording Scheme for GB and Ireland
• Rhododendron leafhopper - Auchenorrhyncha Recording Scheme for GB and Ireland
  
• Signal crayfish - CEH
  

Plants:

• Water primrose - Botanical Society of the British Isles
  
• Tree of heaven - Botanical Society of the British Isles
• American skunk-cabbage - Botanical Society of the British Isles
• Floating pennywort - Botanical Society of the British Isles
• Water fern - Botanical Society of the British Isles
• Wakame - The Marine Biological Association of the UK
• Rhododendron - Botanical Society of the British Isles
• Himalayan balsam  - Botanical Society of the British Isles

And outside the RISC programme, there are other mapping and recording schemes that capture invasive data:

• Grey Squirrel - the Mammal Society
• Ring-necked parakeet - BTO Birdtrack, Project parakeet
• Harlequin ladybird - Harlequin ladybird survey
• Horse Chestnut leaf-miner - Conker Tree Science - a collaboration between the Universities of Bristol and Hull and NERC
  

These are the citizen science/mass observation projects.  There are many more species listed, research project and eradication initiatives listed on the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat site. 

The UK Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) network has provided a list of current and emerging knowledge sources on environmental research and related projects - includes reference to forthcoming information on use of information from the OPAL citizen science project in the Water Directive and on ecosystem approach data for UK river catchments.

Study in PLoS One on attitudes of (mainly) French children to biodiversity - their knowledge and conservation interest higher for exotic species, rather than local biodiversity.  Attributed to media representation and paucity of field exposure, among other things.

Ballouard J-M, Brischoux F, Bonnet X (2011) Children Prioritize Virtual Exotic Biodiversity over Local Biodiversity. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23152. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023152