Perth County Celebrates GIS Day with the New SWOOP Aerial Imagery

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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PERTH COUNTY, ON – Perth County is celebrating GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day with the launch of newly updated aerial imagery. The Southwestern Ontario Orthophotography images, more commonly known as “SWOOP” imagery, are high resolution digital photos taken every 5 years by the Province of Ontario’s Land Information Division.

These specialized aerial images are not only high resolution, but they also are georeferenced so they can be layered as a base map in the County’s interactive GIS map beneath road network, zoning, parcel and other important map layers. The files are received by the County and stitched together by the GIS team to form the updated base map.

“GIS technology is an important tool used Perth County’s operations.” said Jim Aitcheson, Warden of Perth County. “It is great timing to be able to celebrate the launch of the SWOOP imagery in celebration of GIS Day.”

“This imagery is an important layer in our interactive GIS mapping.” said Gary White, GIS Coordinator for Perth County. “The updated visual data provided through SWOOP imagery informs a variety of work we do at Perth County from Emergency Management to Planning and Development to Infrastructure and Asset Management.”

The photos are captured across Southwestern Ontario in early spring (April-May) when snow cover has melted and the leaf canopy has not yet grown in. This allows for ground-level topographic and hydrological features to be most visible from the air. Perth County GIS has participated in the SWOOP program since 2000.

To view our interactive GIS Map including new SWOOP layers, visit: www.perthcounty.ca/GIS and click on the “Interactive Map” to connect to the web map viewer. Once the web viewer is launched, users can select the “Base Map” layer menu to activate the new 2020 Aerial Imagery.

GIS Day was launched in 1999 to recognize, celebrate and demonstrate the importance of GIS technology and how it is used to make a difference around the world. For more information about GIS Day, visit: www.gisday.com

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Media Contact:
Sarah Franklin, Communications Officer
sfranklin@perthcounty.ca
519-301-3787