The Green Club’s newest member is not a kilt-wearing Mercy girl, but a slow-moving furry friend from tropical rain forests. The club recently adopted a three-toed sloth from Central America through the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF).

The WWF works to preserve wildlife and nature, and one of its goals is to protect species that are nearing extinction because of human interference in their ecosystems. With the help of monthly donations, the foundation protects and restores the ecosystems of these endangered animals.

The WWF also offers the opportunity to symbolically adopt an endangered animal. Green Club purchased a $55 adoption package, and along with the satisfaction of helping adorable animals, they were given a plush version of the animal, an adoption certificate, a species card, a gift bag, and a picture of the animal.

Although there are over 100 options of endangered species to chose from, the club’s leaders narrowed them down to their six favorite animals from the website. They then created a PowerPoint, introducing the six animals to the other club members so that they could vote on the species that they would adopt. This gave the entire club a chance to participate.

“We want our members to be involved,” club leader senior Claire Johnston said. “The leaders chose the [animals] to pick from, but overall the club members [had] the say.”

The club decided to adopt the endangered three-toed sloth and voted to name her Clementine. Sloths cannot regulate body temperatures and require hot and humid climates for survival. However, hot and humid rain forests in Central America — the three toed sloth’s native habitat — are endangered, putting the sloths at risk. By adopting this species and giving money to the foundation, the club helped to protect Clementine and sloths throughout the Central American rain forests.