Groton — Henry Alves has plenty of plans for Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park.

The state parks and recreation supervisor, who oversees the Groton historical site and several other parks in southeastern Connecticut, told members of the Groton Bank Historical Association on Sunday that he wants to add seasonal staff, install informational signs and make the park more accessible to school groups.

Surrounded by the Revolutionary War-era muskets and porcelain in the Groton park’s Monument House Museum, Alves, who took over the area’s parks in April of 2015, said he is thrilled to be running Fort Griswold.

“This is the dream job for me,” he said.

He has already managed the replacement of the furnace in the Ebenezer Avery House at Fort Griswold, he said Sunday. But his plans for the future go even further beyond physical improvements.

“I want a lot more interactive contact between park staff and the public,” he said.

That will mean more seasonal tour guides educating visitors about the park’s various attractions, installing new signs and a phone number that visitors can call for information, he said.

Alves said he would also like the park to be open to school groups year-round.

“As far as I’m concerned, this place never closes when it comes to school groups,” he said. “Education is absolutely, to me, the key to our survival.”

Alves, who has worked in the state parks system for 25 years and has a background in construction, also has several physical upgrades in mind.

“When I first walk into a place I look first at what improvements we can make,” he said.

He plans to have the roof of the museum replaced by the end of this spring, which will fix some of the water stains that have been creeping down the wall of the museum’s bathroom.

The inside of the granite battle monument will get new LED light fixtures to replace the rusted lighting in place now. New fencing will surround the park’s flagpole.

Alves said the budget for the state’s parks he oversees has not been cut, and he feels confident that it will all get done.

Fort Griswold was built to protect New London during the Revolutionary War and the was the site of a deadly 1781 battle between American forces and British troops under traitor Benedict Arnold.

“I want a lot of people … involved with Fort Griswold so they realize the significance of this place,” he said.

Former Groton mayor and Groton Historical Society president James Streeter said he’s excited to see Alves take charge of the park.

“His enthusiasm and his ideas are just so welcomed,” he said. “They’re not huge projects, but it will continue to maintain the history of this fort.”

m.shanahan@theday.com

Twitter: @martha_shan