Updated 11am - Added Ramblers Association statement

Educator, journalist and environmentalist Lino Bugeja has passed away aged 86. 

Mr Bugeja was synonymous with Ramblers Malta, founding the association in 2005 and leading it for several years before being made its honorary president in 2010. 

Born in Vittoriosa in 1930, Mr Bugeja was a key figure in Malta's sports scene for several decades before becoming known for his environmental campaigning. 

A fine athlete, he held the national 400 metres record for several years before going on to set up the Educational Sports Centre with Fr Hillary Tagliaferro in the 1970s.

He was decorated with the 'Croce dell'Ordine al Meritor Melitense' by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 2003, and in 2013 he was made a member of the National Order of Merit for his services to Malta.

Mr Bugeja was also a distinguished journalist, winning Institute of Maltese Journalists awards for sports and cultural writing. Just last year, Mr Bugeja won the IĠM award for cultural journalism. In a statement, the IĠM offered his family its condolences. 

In his later years, Mr Bugeja focused his energy on protecting Malta's environmental heritage, founding the Ramblers Association, writing on environmental issues in newspapers such as The Sunday Times of Malta and being at the forefront of a national environmental protest in June 2015. 

In November of that year, Mr Bugeja guided Prince William on a tour of the St Laurence Collegiate in Vittoriosa during the prince's visit in honour of Malta's 50 years of independence. 

Ramblers Association president Alex Vella said the organisation was deeply saddened to hear of Mr Bugeja's passing. 

"He was one of the country's most respected environmentalists, and was amongst the first to become concerned about the fact that access to the countryside was becoming gradually denied to the public," Mr Vella said. 

Mr Bugeja was the father of two children. 

Mr Bugeja during last year's press awards.