Wayne Shepheard graduated in Geology from the University of Calgary and spent over 40 years applying his knowledge andexpertise in the exploration for oil and gas, primarily in Western Canada. Following retirement, he has spent much of his time involved with family history research, exploring families in North America, continental Europeand the United Kingdom.

Wayne is active in expanding his interest in and writing about natural phenomena and their impacts on people and communities. His view is that humankind has always had to adapt to the ever-changing physical environments in which they lived. In his genealogical work, Wayne has been particularly mindful of stories concerning families that were both negatively and positively impacted by changes to their habitat and to disasters which sometimes overwhelmed them.

Wayne published a book (Surviving Mother Nature’s Tests) that relates many of the situations observed in nature to the lives of families who experienced or endured them, primarily over the past several centuries.

He volunteers as an Online Parish Clerk, handling four parishes in Devon, England. Wayne is the author of over 30 articles published in family history journals and magazines and has made presentations to many groups related to a variety of subjects.  Information about these articles and talks can be found on his two regular genealogical blogs, Discover Genealogy and Mother Nature’s Tests.