Any child who has been to Mudgee Preschool since 1990 will have memories of the fort in the playground at Lovejoy Street.

Built nearly 30 years ago in November 1990, the fort has been a feature in the outdoor play program for three decades with its climbing wall, slippery dip and firefighters' pole.

Mudgee Preschool Centre Director, Rosie Gibbs said "the fort has been there to inspire imaginative play, grow physical skills, encourage 'safe' risky play, and develop social and emotional skills, but now, after 30 years, we are sad to say it needs replacing as it is showing signs of deterioration."

"Fortunately, we have had some experts help us with the design of a new fort to replace it, the children themselves.

"It seems they love the fort so much that the new one will be very much like the old one, with a few exciting additions such as a double slippery dip, 'so we can slide down with our friends', and a climbing net, 'so we can climb like Spider-Man'".

"Many children will remember the sense of achievement when they finally learned how to slip down the firefighters' pole by themselves, or jump to the ground from the dizzy heights of the fort platform."

Mudgee Preschool said the new fort will be constructed from sustainable products 'as much as possible' and guttering will be included so that rain can be collected into a new water tank for the children to enjoy in their play.

Sections of the old fort will also be repurposed to build a new chook pen and the firefighters' pole will be reused too

Funding has been provided by the Department of Education Quality Learning Environments Grants as well as Moolarben and Wilpinjong mines.

"Their investment in this community project will be appreciated by hundreds of children in the years to come," Ms Gibbs said.

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