The festival marks the start of a season when thousands of mullet – known as ‘wurridjal’ in the Dharug or Eora Aboriginal languages spoken in the Sydney region – enter the Cooks River during their pre-spawning migration along the east coast of Australia.

It is coordinated by the Cooks River Alliance and its member councils including The City of Canterbury Bankstown, which currently hosts the alliance.

Mayor Khal Asfour said a range of exciting environmental events and activities have been organised until the end of March. At a Cooks River clean-up event last year volunteers collected nearly 1.2 tonnes of rubbish in one day. The Mayor said these celebrations draw on strong Indigenous links, and will help the community reconnect with the land.

"This is about recognising the river’s significance in Aborignal culture. For countless generations, Aboriginal custodians have looked after the river and we are so fortunate to be able to help highlight and celebrate this," he said.

"A huge range of fun activities have been planned for people of all ages. We’ve also got bushcare and clean-up events, and a number of free cultural educational tours on kayaks and bicycles along the Cooks River."

There are more than 40 activities and workshops for the community to take part in. These include:

• Birdwatching with the Mudlarks (Tuesday 10 March, 7am);
• A cycle skills workshop followed by a guided Cooks River environmental tour (Sunday 22 March 9-11am);
• A cultural kayak tour of the Cooks River (Sunday 29 March, 10am and 1pm);
• ‘2040’ film screening (Sunday 29 March, 5-6.30pm);
• Bushcare with the Mudcrabs (every weekend in March).

For a full list of events and acitivities, and to register, visit cb.city/wurridjal.