"Biologists often begin autobiographical sketches by describing an idyllic childhood spent in a company of bugs and salamander," says Eric Dinerstein, a noted wildlife biologist. For me, it was no different. I sketched my childhood,  a boy from Kathmandu,] who spent two months of winter vacations in the warm and dusty plains of Salahesh fulbari, playing with the buffalo shepherd, fishing and taking mud baths in the paddy fields. Geographically located in Lahan Municipality in Siraha district, Salahesh fulbari includes six hectares of forested gardens with historical and cultural significance. The area was famous for a species of orchid that was believed to bloom only on the eve and first day of the Nepali new year. Underground water ran through this garden, forming small rivulets, flowing out, and used by hundreds of villagers to water their paddy fields. These deeply rooted cultural beliefs—tied to the various ecosystem services that the land provides to locals—explains fulbari’s significance.