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Canterbury-Bankstown is a city of 3 rivers: Cooks River, Georges River and Parramatta River. These rivers provide important habitats for plants and animals, and they’re a great place to enjoy with family and friends!

We're committed to maintaining a clean and green city, and we’re working hard to protect these environments. Get involved in some of our upcoming events to help make a difference.

Paddle Against Plastic - Saturday 17 April

In 2020, more than 15 tonnes of rubbish was removed from the water and land on the Cooks and Georges Rivers. Join the City of Canterbury Bankstown, Cooks River Alliance, Georges Riverkeeper, River Canoe Club and Oceans Crusaders in 2021 to do it all again.

Rent or bring your own Kayak, SUP or Canoe and help us clean up the waterway.

There’s also lots to be cleaned from the land along the river. Sign up for the land clean-up to get involved. Gloves, bags and a litter pickers provided.

Georges River Paddle Against Plastic new event date is Saturday 17 April. Register now.

Register for the Cooks River Paddle Against Plastic, Sunday 28 March

Cycle Skills and Riverside Bike Tour – Sunday 14 March & Sunday 11 April

Join us for a FREE cycle skills session and environmental ride, suitable for all ages. Each session will run for two hours, and includes a one-hour cycling skills session, followed by a 7km fun ride. During this fun ride, an expert will give a guided environmental tour.

Registrations are essential with limited availability.

Register for Cooks River event, Sunday 14 March

Register for Georges River event, Sunday 11 April

Riverside Scavenge Cooks River - Saturday 1 May

Come on down to Rosedale Reserve for the Cooks River Riverside Scavenge. This is a community clean-up event where litter collected from local waterways and parklands becomes a currency in a pop-up market to purchase pre-loved goods that have been donated by the community. For every 10 pieces of litter collected, participants are rewarded with one Trash Token to use in a pop-up market of quality handpicked pre-loved clothes, books and toys.

Register for the event

Home rainwater tanks 101: all you need to know workshop – Saturday May 8

Find out what's involved in designing and maintaining your own rainwater harvesting system. This is one great way of protecting our rivers by reducing the amount of stormwater entering our waterways. This FREE workshop will give you all the information you need to choose your rainwater tank. You’ll learn:

• How to choose the best tank size
• How to calculate demand for your rainwater tank system
• The different types of tanks and their installation requirements
• How to design a system including first leaf screening mesh, rain heads and first flush diverters
• How to ensure suitable water quality and minimise health impacts
• Ongoing maintenance requirements

Book your tickets here

Wurridjal Festival  - events throughout March

It’s mullet season on the Cooks River! The Wurridjal festival marks the start of a season when thousands of mullet – known as ‘Wurridjal’ in the Dharug or Eora Aboriginal languages – enter the Cooks River, during their pre-spawning migration, along the east coast of Australia.

Throughout March you can go to online talks on Aboriginal astronomy and fish feelings, do a history walk, discover edible weeds,  join a Bushcare event or do a bird survey and much more.  Go to Cooks River Alliance events to register.

Parramatta River Catchment Changemakers Course

Are you passionate about making a positive difference to your local waterways? Applications are now open for the Changemakers Course on the Parramatta River catchment. It's a great opportunity to volunteer with like-minded and caring people to develop innovative ideas and projects to help improve our creeks and rivers.

The course is free and no formal qualifications are required. See the Our Living River website for more details about course and dates.