Bindi and Terri Irwin
Last Update: Tuesday, July 17, 2007. 4:54pm AWST

From her TV tree-house perched high up in the jungle, Bindi Irwin stars in a new 26-part TV series aimed to get the message out about conservation and to teach the world about our animals.
Bindi: The Jungle Girl starts on ABC TV on Wednesday July 18 and 720 Drive's Russell Woolf chatted to Bindi and Terri Irwin on the eve of the first episode airing.
"They are going to see me in my tree-house with all of my animal friends, my mum, my brother and my dad," Bindi told Russell.
Plans for "Bindi: The Jungle Girl" were underway well before Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray in September and he's in it a lot. He appears in the first seven episodes, popping up in the tree-house with Bindi and mum Terri. Bindi told Russell that she enjoys having him in the episodes and it makes her feel very comfortable.
Terri explains that everyone handles their grief differently.
"For us it is actually quite comforting, it keeps him here and part of our lives. It's a sense of joy and pride that I see him with Bindi and doing what he was hoping to do, which was to start filming with her."
It's been about 10 months now since Steve Irwin tragically died and Terri admits that it's still a lot of "one day at a time."
"There are hard days and there are days that are easier to get through but overall I think I am blessed that I have this mission that Steve had started. We are hanging in there. We have such an important job to do, so we keep going."
There's been a lot of criticism towards Terri for allowing Bindi to spend so much time and pressure filming a TV series.
"Bindi has been actively filming with us since she was born. I love my children dearly and I am doing the best I can do as a mother but I would be lying that some criticisms that filter through aren't painful," she told Russell and she wants to assure anyone who is concerned that her children will always come first.

Bindi: The Jungle Girl airs on ABC TV every Wednesday from 4.05pm